Dame Ethel Smyth

Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944)

Dame Ethel Smyth was an English composer and suffragette — the first female composer to be granted a damehood. Despite her father's opposition, she studied at the Leipzig Conservatoire, where she encountered Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Clara Schumann.

 Her Mass in D was performed at the Royal Albert Hall by the Royal Choral Society in 1893, establishing her as a major compositional voice. Her choral works also include sacred part-songs, cantatas, and several pieces for choir and orchestra. Her final major work, The Prison (1930), a choral symphony, sets a text by her close friend Henry Brewster, in which a prisoner engages in dialogue with his own soul. Premiered in 2018 by the Cecilia Chorus and Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, it was subsequently recorded and received a Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Solo. A towering and pioneering figure, Smyth's choral legacy continues to grow in recognition.

Read more about Dame Smyth at: https://cyso.org/blog/composer-profile-dame-ethel-smyth-suffragette-queer-composer/