The radio station will celebrate International Women’s Day with a run of female presenters and composers.

ABC Classic FM will celebrate International Women’s Day with a 24-hour all female line-up on March 8. Eight female Classic FM presenters will introduce 146 works written by more than 70 women composers. Half of the works will be Australian, with many performed by female musicians.

“I’m thrilled about our stellar all-female line-up,” said Classic FM’s Acting Content Director Kat McGuffie. “We’ve got Australia’s rising stars in classical broadcasting and icons of the industry, like Margaret Throsby who celebrates 50 years on air this week. They’ll bring you great music all day, playing crowd favourites and unearthing hidden gems. I’m particularly excited about our free lunch-time concert at the State Library of Victoria, with an all-female cast and crew, and music spanning 1000 years, all composed by women.”

“I’ve been a broadcaster for 50 years now, and I have seen many changes to our industry,” Margaret Throsby told Limelight. “Of course I support International Women’s Day on ABC Classic FM, but I do look forward to a time when it’s no longer deemed necessary – when women achieve absolute equality and the day becomes obsolete.”

Soprano and broadcaster Greta Bradman

The lunch-time concert, to be broadcast live at 1pm, will be presented by soprano and broadcaster Greta Bradman, and will feature an all-female chamber ensemble. “Being involved in International Women’s Day by way of ABC Classic FM’s overt celebration of women’s contribution to classical music through composition and performance is something I’m really excited about,” Bradman told Limelight. “I’m really looking forward to hearing a whole heap of sublime and interesting music and some fascinating stories of women’s passion, fortitude and perseverance around music composition and performance too.”

“For much of the history of Western classical music, having a Y chromosome brought with it access to compositional and high level performance training and professional pathways, which were elusive for many without it,” she said. “Yet also through history there are these extraordinary female composers and performers who managed to create and perform classical music in the most extraordinary fashion, in spite of cultural expectations or assumptions.”

The line-up of presenters will feature Sian Prior on Night Music, Alice Keath on Classic Breakfast, Bradman on the lunch-time concert, Genevieve Lang on Afternoons, Mairi Nicolson on Drive and Deborah Cheetham on evenings.

“I’m as excited and curious as the next Classic FM listener to hear some of the music on offer on this special day,” said Bradman, “and being involved as a presenter and getting to chat with some women on the day is something I’m looking forward to very much.”


ABC Classic FM celebrates the women of classical music for 24 hours on March 8. For more information visit the ABC Classic FM website.

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