Alumni Spotlights
Róisín Maher - Artistic Director, Finding a Voice Festival
Róisín Maher is Artistic Director of Finding a Voice, a classical musical festival that celebrates International Women's Day by showcasing "unforgettable music by remarkable women". Founded in 2017 by Róisín and her sister Cliona, the festival has featured music by hundreds of women composers, from the twelfth-century nun Hildegard of Bingen to newly commissioned works by Irish composers.
Róisín studied music at UCC and now lectures part-time at the Cork School of Music. We talk to Róisín about championing women and the theme of this year's International Women's Day, '#InspiringInclusion'. Photo by Clare Keogh.
What did you study at UCC?
I studied music at UCC and graduated with a B.Mus (Hons) in 1988. At the time, the music degree was a three-year course and the music department was on Western Road, opposite the entrance to the university.
Tell us a bit about your career journey. How did you get to where you are today?
My career journey has been quite circuitous really. I emigrated to England straight after graduating since it was the late eighties and that was what many of my classmates were doing and then spent some time working in London and Leeds. While I was in Leeds, I did a masters degree at Leeds University while being employed part-time at Opera North. The combination of studying and event-organising was something that really appealed to me as it meant that my research had an immediate practical application.
I then spent a couple of years in Sierra Leone, with Voluntary Service Overseas, where I lectured at a teacher-training college outside the capital Freetown. Although at times very challenging (including a military coup three months in – my poor parents!), my time in West Africa was very inspirational and also made me aware of issues around diversity and inclusion in music for the first time. When I returned to Ireland, I worked in different capacities in the arts, from resource organisations to festivals to performing groups, for over a decade, before taking a part-time lecturing post in Cork School of Music when my daughters were born.
"my time in West Africa was very inspirational and also made me aware of issues around diversity and inclusion in music for the first time"
Where did the idea for the Finding a Voice festival come from?
I had been interested in music by women and feminist musicology for some time, including designing and teaching a module on Women in/and Music, but several years ago began to notice that the situation wasn’t really changing in terms of the music that was being programmed and performed, or at least, wasn’t changing fast enough. I wanted to do something practical to address this and give performers opportunities to explore this incredible neglected music and audiences the chance to listen to it live. At the time, my sister Cliona was Artistic Director of South Tipperary Arts Centre and so we successfully applied to the Arts Council to do some concerts of music by women composers around International Women’s Day in our hometown of Clonmel, and everything has really grown from there! We’re now in our seventh year and have produced concerts featuring music by hundreds of women composers, from the twelfth century through to commissioning living Irish composers.
How does Finding a Voice #InspireInclusion?
The whole idea behind Finding a Voice is to be as inclusive as possible in terms of programming music by women and gender-marginalised composers, as well as by underrepresented composers who have traditionally been excluded from the classical music canon. The festival is also inclusive in the way that it embraces a range of musical genres in its programming. In terms of inspiring, I know that many of the musicians who play at the festival feel inspired to explore music that they might not have performed previously, and add it to their repertoire, while audiences are hopefully inspired to continue listening to this music and seek it out beyond the festival itself.
Who inspires you?
It's difficult to think of an individual person but I’m inspired by the stories of these women composers and the obstacles they had to overcome to have their voices heard, as well as by the music itself and how extraordinary it is. I’m also inspired by other people who are working to get music by women out into the world, both in Ireland and internationally. There seems to be a real appetite for change at the moment but I’ve been around long enough to know that that won’t necessarily last and that it’s vital to keep on working to improve inclusivity and diversity in music. I’m also inspired by the enthusiasm and passion of my students, as well as by my two amazing daughters.
Best memories from your time at UCC?
I have really fond memories of performing in the beautiful Aula Maxima with the UCC Orchestra as well as of singing in the Honan Chapel with the UCC Choir and going on tour (to Kerry!) with the UCC Choral Society. I was also introduced to my now husband, Dr Michael Kilkelly, in the basement of the Boole library, so you could say that UCC has played a very important role in my life!