A musical celebration of extraordinary women, through new songs inspired by their words

Hear Her Song is The Canales Project’s debut initiative honoring distinguished female leaders through new songs written by female composers and songwriters across the globe. Each artist connects with an honoree, and then uses her words and stories directly to create a song amplifying messages of women’s leadership and challenges they face in contemporary culture. It is both a musical commemoration of women’s achievements, and a call to action to advocate for gender equality.
This collaborative project aims to amplify women leader’s extraordinary voices while also providing opportunities for female composers and performers to use their own. Since its inception in 2017, Hear Her Song has commissioned over 50 songs, honored over 45 leaders, and collaborated with 12 partner organizations, involving over 12 countries.

Countries involved with Hear Her Song

Each composer is connected with an honoree and creates an original song using their words and stories as direct source inspiration
National Endowment for the Arts Award + El Sistema USA Partnership

We are honored to have received a ‘Grant for Arts Project’ from the National Endowment for the Arts for a project in collaboration with El Sistema USA® (ESUSA)! This project commissioned HHS artists Faye Chiao, Dom Jones, Morley and Madeline Myers to arrange their songs for El Sistema USA® affiliate youth ensembles including Intempo, Junea Alaska Music Matters, Make Music Nola and Sistema Utah.
These collaborations not only provided youth ensembles with new music from the Hear Her Song canon, but also provide professional opportunities for our composers, and expose youth to music of modern female composers that highlights stories of women leadership. Furthermore, these composers represent divergent musical styles and identity backgrounds, inviting a dialogue that fosters mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all persons and groups.

Students from Make Music NOLA performing ‘Someday’ by Faye Chiao.
Wellesley College Artistic Residency 2022 Feature
In April 2022, we worked with students at Wellesley College with a vocal Masterclass featuring songs from the Hear Her Song Canon! It was a powerful experience to have songs from the canon performed by students taking their own approach to these women’s’ stories and compositions.
Performance of ‘Someday’ by Faye Chiao (in honor of Lina Li)
Performance of ‘The Gardener’ by Sara Colman (in honor of Sakena Yaccobi)
Performance of ‘Diver’ by Grace McLean (in honor of Kathleen Turner)

Performance of ‘Grateful’ by Rosabella Gregory (in honor of Shivika Sinha)
Performance of ‘Yours is Ours’ by Gwyneth Herbert (in honor of Gloria Steinem) as part of Wellesley College Concert Series: Building Bridges Through Song
Hear Her Song Returns in 2022 with New Composers and Honorees!

We are thrilled to share that Hear Her Song will continue with a new round of composers and honorees! Our lineup of honorees have been nominated by our partner, Vital Voices Global Partnership. Honorees include Jamira Burley, The Dolls Clan, Victoria Kisyombe, Rouba Mhaissen and Priti Paktar. The composers writing songs in honor of these women include Sofía Élan, Manisha Maru, Alida McKeon, Giselle Felice and Olivia Rodriguez. We are looking forward to these five new songs aimed at celebrating both women’s leadership and artistry. As our composers will be working on these new songs for the next few months, during this time we invite you to check out the inaugural Hear Her Song album, proudly launched in March 2021. We hope you find inspiration from these empowering stories!

Hear Her Song Album Available Now!
On March 26th, 2021, TCP launched the VERY FIRST album of Hear Her Song! You can check it out below:
YEAR 1
2017 - 2018
Composers
Honorees
YEAR 2
2018 - 2019
Composers
Honorees
YEAR 3
2020-2021
PARTNERS
Berklee College of Music’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship focuses on entrepreneurialism, creativity, and innovative thinking as the most valuable assets for excelling in today’s competitive and ever-changing economy.
Through a 2018-19 partnership, TCP and BerkleeICE will commission three new songs from Berklee student composers, honoring female leaders from Mercy Beyond Borders, and to be premiered in March 2019 in San Francisco, CA.
United Nations Decade of Women is a global effort to move from advocacy for women into The Decade Of Women.
In the 2018-19 season TCP is excited to be partnering with the action-focused campaign to honor ten international women leaders. These honorees will be recognized with newly-commissioned songs, developed and premiered in collaboration with another TCP partner, the University of Wolverhampton in United Kingdom.
El Sistema USA supports a nationwide alliance of El Sistema-inspired organizations, aiming to support and grow a nationwide movement of programs inspired by El Sistema to effect social change through music for children with the fewest resources and the greatest need.
TCP is delighted to be embarking on new partnerships with El Sistema USA through which our Hear Her Song anthem, “Hear Our Song” (written by Katy Pfaffl, arranged by Joshua Cerdenia) will be incorporated into the curriculum of the participants of their orchestras, wind ensembles and choirs, which include over 1,000 youth throughout the United States.
Her Village Foundation aims to empower women, promote gender parity, and enhance the understanding among women from different countries. In China Her Village has a network of 40 million urban women, and a core demographic of ages 25-35, offering them knowledge and skills including self-growth, career, and entrepreneurship.
Our partnership with Her Village occurs in the 2018-19 season, honoring Chinese media proprietor Yang La, and presenting selections from Hear Her Song at the Her Village International Forum in April 2019 in Beijing, China.
The Malala Fund works for a world where all girls can learn and lead, advocating for resources and policy changes and investing in local education leaders, amplifying the voices of girls fighting for change.
Our collaboration with the Fund occurs in the 2018-19 season, honoring activist, Nobel Prize laureate, and Fund founder Malala Yousafzai.
Mercy Beyond Borders forges ways for women and girls in extreme poverty to learn, connect and lead.
Our partnership with the organization occurs in the 2018-19 season to honor three of their women activists, with new songs to be composed by students of the Berklee School of Music Institute of Creative Entrepreneurship and to be premiered in March 2019 in San Francisco, CA.
The University of Wolverhampton prides itself on being a ‘University of Opportunity’ which welcomes students from all backgrounds and experiences and equip them with the industry skills to embark on the career of their choice. The University is particularly committed to raising the profile of women in the institution and workplace, investing in female academics, supporting them to leadership, and implementing change that encourages women to embark on careers in traditionally male disciplines.
Working with the United Nations (UN) Decade of Women project, the UK premiere of Hear Her Song in partnership with University of Wolverhampton will bring together female British composers to celebrate the life and work of honourees from the Decade of Women network. Composition and development workshops will be held at the University’s Performance Hub at the Walsall Campus, with Hear Her Song UK premiered in a number of theatres across the region and the UK with US premieres in Washington, D.C. in May, and New York in June 2019.
City of San José's Office of Cultural Affairs is the lead agency for supporting the development of a rich arts and cultural environment for San José’s one million residents and its many visitors. The arts and culture are essential elements in the character and quality of life in the community, and as the largest city in northern California and the capital of Silicon Valley, San José is the hub of a wide array of arts and cultural opportunities.
The Office of Cultural Affairs is a long-term partner of TCP, presenting the West Coast premiere of two editions for Hear Her Song, and also presenting TCP productions Duende and Songs of Strength, Songs of Regret.
Vital Voices searches for woman leaders with daring visions, partnering with them to make their visions a reality.
Hear Her Song began in a partnership with Vital Voices, presenting the first installment titled This I Choose in March 2017 in Washington, DC. The installment applauded the efforts of
Vital Voices honorees Nadia Bushnaq, ElsaMaria D’Silva, Ariela Suster, and Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, with newly-commissioned songs from composers Emily Koh, Jennifer Jolley, Molly Joyce, and Kelly Moran. Furthermore, the partnership featured a performance by cellist Amanda Gookin and TCP artists also performed at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, in a mash-up of women’s empowerment songs created by Hear Her Song Music Director Kurt Crowley.
Women Like Us Foundation promotes gender equality and social justice while assisting in sustainability for women-led initiatives eradicating sexual abuse and homelessness.
Collaboration with Women Like Us Foundation was established in the 2017-18 season, partnering to recognize Women Like Us honorees Celeste Mergens, Nancy Noel, Nancy O’Reilly, and Linda Rendleman. These leaders were honored with four newly-created songs from composers Dina Fanai, Emily Hall, Madeline Myers, and Georgia Stitt, with premieres taking place in March 2018 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.