Mentoring Emerging Women Composers

What is the role of a mentor in music composition? Have there been other mentor programs for women composers where women themselves are the mentors? Does the mentoring process provide a positive outcome in terms of performances and future compositional opportunities? When women mentor other women, what difference does it make, if any? As the genre of orchestral music is one of the most difficult in which emerging composers, regardless of gender, are able to “get a break,” this chapter discusses the challenges faced by women composers writing for orchestra. It outlines the scope of my work mentoring women composers in the inaugural National Women’s Composer Development Program, and describes the range of activities included in the process of mentoring women who are composing orchestral pieces. It also outlines the background and activities that are part of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Australian Composers’ School. The chapter also addresses issues surrounding the programming of orchestral music by women composers and considers reasons why mentorship of composers is vital to ensure their access to the professional symphony orchestra oeuvre.