Keychange – PRS Foundation

The Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance is now a signatory to the PRS Foundation's Keychange initiative. Keychange is a pioneering international initiative which transforms the future of music whilst encouraging festivals and various kinds of music organisations to achieve a 50:50 gender balance by 2022. Keychange aims to accelerate change and create a better more inclusive music industry for present and future generations.

Professor Cat Hope states "Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University, Australia has signed up to the Keychange pledge across all areas of the school because it demonstrates our commitment to gender equality in music alongside hundreds of organisations. As custodians of musicians and creators for the future, it is important to us that they go into the world understanding the power of equity. The commitments in our pledge will increase choice, quality and opportunity for future generations of musicians, music creators, music lovers and industry professionals."

The schools commits to:

1. Ensure that at least 50% of all ensemble programming across the school features works by female-identifying composers and/or gender minorities by 2022. This includes student and staff ensembles, across all stylistic streams.
2. Ensure that at least 50% of all commissions by the school are from female-identifying and/or gender minorities composers by 2022.
3. Maintain an appropriate gender balance of guests – aiming for at least 50% female and/or gender minority – across our visiting artists and visiting lecturer series within any academic year. Our aim is to maintain gender balance as well within disciplines, across all streams – composers, performers, musicologists, programmers etc.
4. Communicate our aim and an expectation to all guest performers that they maintain an appropriate gender balance in their concert programming, aiming for at least 50% female-identifying and/or gender minority composers/artists across school concert programs by 2022.
5. Ensure all final year (graduating) recitals feature at least one work/software tool by a female identifying and/or gender minority composer in all streams.
6. Work toward a 50% female and/or gender minority staff mix across the school by 2022.
7. Commit to equitable gender representation in our print and online promotional materials.
8. Be sensitive to diverse and traditional cultural frameworks when implementing this pledge.

The school reports to the PRS annually on the progress of their pledge.