Preparing for innovative concert, St. Louis Women’s Chorale finds harmony onstage and off

Female composers of orchestral and choral music have long struggled for opportunities in a field historically dominated by men. That has changed in recent years, but the St. Louis Women’s Chorale has always sung a different tune.

In a typical season, about half to three-quarters of the all-female ensemble’s repertoire comes from women composers.

“We’re trying to help to raise the voice for all the females that have huge talent and give them possibilities. Possibilities to appear, possibilities to express themselves and just come here and share their voice with us,” said Benedetta Orsi, the ensemble’s principal alto and a member of its board of directors.

St. Louis Women’s Chorale is tuning up for a particularly ambitious performance Friday at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts in Creve Coeur: the St. Louis premiere of Jocelyn Hagen’s “Brushstrokes: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci.”

The concert is a collaboration with the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Music Director Darwin Aquino. The concert’s first half will feature the Philharmonic performing three pieces without the choir.