Hear Her Song
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.
National Endowment for the Arts Award and 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.
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.
Hear Her Song Returned in 2022 with New Composers and Honorees
We were thrilled to share that Hear Her Song continued with a new round of composers and honorees. The lineup of honorees was nominated by our partner, Vital Voices Global Partnership. Honorees included Jamira Burley, The Dolls Clan, Victoria Kisyombe, Rouba Mhaissen, and Priti Paktar. The composers who wrote songs in honor of these women included Sofía Élan, Manisha Maru, Alida McKeon, Giselle Felice, and Olivia Rodriguez. These five new songs celebrated both women’s leadership and artistry. As the composers worked on the songs, we also invited audiences to explore the inaugural Hear Her Song album, proudly launched in March 2021, and to find inspiration in these empowering stories.