"The Expansive Canvas": Spotlight on 19th-Century Women Composers

IBSL are thrilled to share details on the upcoming international conference, "The Expansive Canvas: Large-Scale Form in the Music of 19th-Century Women Composers," taking place from 26th to 28th August, 2025, in Dublin.

This much-welcomed event, hosted by the Department of Music at Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, shines a much-needed spotlight on the often-overlooked yet extraordinary contributions of women composers from the "long 19th century" (1789–1922).

The Expansive Canvas Large-Scale Form in the Music of 19th-Century Women Composers International Conference and Collaborative Symposium Dublin, from 26th-28th August 2025.

Image taken from: https://expansivecanvas.com/

The Expansive Canvas explores composers such as the remarkable Ina Boyle, Augusta Holmès, and Fanny Robinson, alongside many other talented women whose legacies deserve wider recognition and celebration.

““This international conference and collaborative symposium aims to reinvigorate our conception of music history.””
— The Expansive Canvas

The conference includes The Expansive Canvas Creative Palette project, curated by conductor Sinéad Hayes. This project is currently seeking creative submissions from the public to form part of the event as a way to respond to these remarkable composers’ music with their own creative projects.

““This is an extraordinary opportunity to take the music of these women out of the academy and into everyday life.”

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— Dr Nicole Grimes, Associate Professor of Music at Trinity and Co-Chair of the Creative and Organising Team for The Expansive Canvas conference.
““There’s so much talk about women composers, but if we want people to really engage, they need to get their hands on it. The Creative Palette offers a powerful way in — not through lectures or textbooks —but through creativity itself.” ”
— Professor Denise Neary, Royal Irish Academy of Music, and Co-Chair of The Expansive Canvas conference.

The conference events will be held across two prestigious locations: the Trinity Long Room Hub and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. This symposium is organised by the Department of Music at Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

For more information, please visit the conference's official website at https://expansivecanvas.com/ and also view their accompanying video HERE.

Registration is also open, please follow the link HERE for further information.

““As we unearth, contextualize, recover, and promote large-scale compositions by these women composers, this international conference and collaborative symposium offers wonderful opportunities for collaboration in study and performance, as well as within the academy and with industry leaders.””
— The Expansive Canvas