The F-List For Music has named musician and composer Hannah Peel as its president.
Peel takes over from classical composer Professor Shirley J Thompson, who was herself preceded by Brix Smith and Anoushka Shankar.
The presidential role is an honorary role for high-profile musicians to build support and awareness for the work of The F-List For Music.
The F-List For Music was set up during the pandemic as a support network for women and non-binary musicians. It is the only nationwide organisation supporting women and gender-diverse musicians across all genres of music in the UK.
Hannah Peel is a Northern Irish artist, composer, producer and radio presenter. Her solo record career includes the shortlisted 2021 Mercury Music Prize album Fir Wave, as well as Awake But Always Dreaming and the space-themed Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia, scored for synthesisers and a 30-piece colliery brass band.
Hannah Peel won the Best Television Soundtrack category in the Ivor Novello Awards for The Midwich Cuckoos. She was Emmy-nominated for the score for Game Of Thrones: The Last Watch, while her soundtrack for TV thriller The Deceived won a 2022 Royal Television Society NI award and the Music Producer’s Guild’s best Original Score Recording.
A regular collaborator with Paul Weller, she contributed arrangements to his No.1 albums On Sunset and Fat Pop. Last year she released The Unfolding with Paraorchestra, the world's only disabled and non-disabled integrated orchestra which went to No.1 in the UK classical charts.
I am extremely passionate about the work that The F-list carries out, and how essential it is for our UK music industry
Hannah Peel
Hannah Peel said: “I am extremely passionate about the work that The F-list carries out, and how essential it is for our UK music industry. It is not an easy industry to navigate and there is no secret formula to ‘success’, however, knowing that there is a talented and dedicated community, not only collating our talents and skills, but helping make connections and shouting about our assets to the world is vitally important!”
Peel added: “There are now more female higher-profile players leading us as role models than ever before, but shocking statistics are still showing a major disparity between the gender gap in music. Highlighting those musicians behind the scenes, who also produce, engineer, orchestrate, conduct… The F-List continues to positively build upon and endorse a supportive place that reflects our rich diversity. It is an honour to represent this wealth of British talent.”
The F-List For Music helps UK women and gender diverse musicians overcome structural barriers and sustain their music careers for longer.
Since forming three years ago, the not-for-profit organisation has organised online events for more than 500 participants, taken 28 women through their flagship ‘Culture of Belonging’ producer training programme at Miloco Studios, formed partnerships with industry organisations and worked with numerous events and festivals helping them source diverse talent, such as Under the Stars, Primadonna and Out and Wild.
The social enterprise also gives visibility to underrepresented talent through their website, playlists and social media channels, and by running the online directory – an ever-expanding community with over 6,000 musicians, songwriters and composers.
PHOTO: Phil Sharp
