On Saturday night, I had to make a speech. AAAaaaaak! (*Speakers’ Bureau Girls, I don’t know how you do it!). But, it was for a good cause: Because I am a Girl, of course!

A Toronto Women’s Choir, the Cantores Celestes, held a concert this weekend and donated $1000 of ticket sales to Because I am a Girl. I was dispatched to accept their generous donation, sweaty palms and all. As an added bonus, I got to stick around for the concert!

One of the pieces they sang was by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, the sister of the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn. I was reading in the program that even though Fanny was tremendously talented as a musician and composer, her “career was stifled because of the attitudes towards women that were prevalent during her lifetime.” At one point, the only way she could get her music heard was by having her brother pretend that he had composed it! Can you imagine if your talent was hidden, just because you were a girl?

So cool that the Cantores Celestes decided to showcase Fanny’s talent (and theirs!) so long after her death – this was the Canadian Premier of the piece!

Thanks very much to the choir for having me there, and also for standing up and singing for girls!