TALKS AND LECTURES
A snapshot of this year ’ s speaker programme
DR LEAH BROAD How Four Women Changed the Musical World
Women in music have , for centuries , been unrecognised . Throughout the years , female composers and musicians have continued to thrive and to make beautiful music , despite the threats they face . Recently we had the honour of welcoming Old Sennockian writer and musicologist Dr Leah Broad ( OS 2009 ) to Sevenoaks , to talk about her joint biography Quartet : How Four Women Changed the Musical World .
This event started with a brief workshop of three performances of works by female composers . Dr Broad gave us a sense for the personality and intention of the music , and we were able to use this to project emotion and colour into our performances . We then had a recital from Sevenoaks students , featuring female composers , ranging from Florence Price to Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee , to ‘ Sea Song ’, a new piece composed and played by Ellie Curson ( Upper Sixth ) on the trombone .
Dr Broad focused on four composers : Ethel Smyth , Rebecca Clarke , Dorothy Howell and Doreen Carwithen . She painted a striking picture of what life was like for women composers at their time , showing the discrimination and hardships that they faced , including competition with male composers . For example , Carwithen ’ s works were undiscovered during her lifetime while she worked in the shadow of her husband , the composer William Alwyn . Dr Broad also illustrated the feminist attitudes of these composers , which was especially prominent in Smyth , the composer of ‘ The March of the Women ’, also known as the anthem for the suffragettes . Dr Broad also played us some of their beautiful music , showing how shocking it was to see this music discredited .
The whole evening was not only a learning experience , but a fascinating and inspiring story from the past to today . Dr Broad beautifully described these four women who defied the social norms to follow their dreams of making and playing music . I can speak on behalf of those who attended the talk , that this has enriched our understanding of the view towards female composers , showing how far we have come , but how far we have left to go . Dr Broad ’ s talk opened our eyes to the world of unacknowledged female composers and has undoubtedly set a precedent for the future of music at Sevenoaks .
Maggie Hunter , Year 11
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JEREMY HUNT
Q & A with the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Just one week before Rishi Sunak was to plunge the country into an unexpected summer election , the ( then ) Chancellor of the Exchequer , Jeremy Hunt , came to speak to an audience of students and parents in the Pamoja Hall . Security was a priority for such a high-profile visit and so the name of the speaker was only announced 24 hours beforehand . Although we only had short notice and were not to know that the general election was imminent , many topical questions were put to the Chancellor .
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2023-2024 13