King’s Birthday MBE honour for York St John University researcher and multi award-winning soprano

Award-winning soprano, musical curator and activist Gabriella Di Laccio has been awarded the honour of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List.   
 
Currently a PhD researcher at York St John University, Gabriella is listed as one of the BBC’s 100 most inspirational and influential women in the world, and is the founder of Donne, Women in Music - a charitable foundation dedicated to achieving gender equality in the music industry.    
 
Winner of the Air Europa 'Classical Act of the Year' and a Guinness World Record holder for orchestrating a 26-hour concert featuring music exclusively by women and non-binary composers, Gabriella’s MBE is in recognition of her services to Music and to Gender Equality. 
 
At York St John University, her PhD is exploring how performance activism, data-driven advocacy, and community-building can work together to drive systemic change in the global music industry.  
 
This practice-based research aims to develop a model that artists, organisations, and educators can adapt to promote equity and representation. 
 
Upon receiving her award, Gabriella said ““I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition, and I share it with all the women who came before me.  
 
“Those who paved the way and inspired me - as well as every woman whose voice was silenced or overlooked, and whose music we still do not know. This is a call to keep making a difference through my music and my actions, and to inspire others to do the same.” 
 
Professor Helen Julia Minors, Head of School of the Arts at York St John University, described Gabriella as “a leading advocate for women’s representation in the music industry”.  
 
“Gabriella has worked tirelessly through Donne to build resources for industry, including creating a number of reports which analyse the data regarding orchestral programming in relation to intersectional representation,” said Helen. 
 
“We are thrilled to be supporting Gabriella's research at York St John, as it aligns to our values of social impact and social justice.” 
 
As a performer and founder of the Donne Foundation, Gabriella has used her voice and platform to challenge exclusion in the music industry, amplifying underrepresented composers and championing the power of inclusive programming. 
 
Among her many achievements are:  

• the commissioning and premiering of over 10 new works by women composers 

• creating the largest database of women composers and a platform that provides free multimedia resources globally 

• partnering with major organisations such as Apple Music, the Royal Albert Hall and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, and 

• being honoured with the ‘Most Inspiring Charity in Music Gender Equality’ award by Acquisition International in 2021. 

 
Also awarded an MBE in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List is Dr Amanda Wilcox, for services to Higher Education. This is in recognition of her role as Pro Vice Chancellor at York St John University between 2018 and 2022. You can learn more in our news article. 
 
Read more about Gabriella’s research at York St John University on our staff profile web page.  
 
You can read more about Gabriella’s achievements on her website. 

Photograph credit: Sharon Eve Smith