My first year at Christ Church marked 40 years of women at the House; my final year celebrates 500 years of the college’s existence. While the Covid-19 pandemic postponed festivities for the first of these anniversaries by one year, to 2021, there was still a college-wide commitment to marking the occasion. I was thrilled to be able to contribute by playing the first concert in the newly renovated Chapter House (even if acoustic panelling had not yet been installed, which rendered some of the 19th-century piano repertoire I played a little overpowering). Now, during my final year, it feels like coming full circle by playing not one but two recitals to commemorate the centuries-long history of Christ Church. The first of these recitals happened in June, as I was preparing for my DPhil viva. With this milestone successfully behind me, I am now looking forward to the second recital on 16 November, while also chipping away at my second doctorate at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver (Canada). What all three recitals have in common is a dedicated focus on women’s work in music, and thus a close link to my doctoral research.

To understand my Oxford journey (and why I am doing two PhDs), I should reach back a little. When I first applied to doctoral programmes, for the academic year 2019/20, I applied – among others – to Oxford and was thrilled to receive an offer. However, the offer did not include a scholarship, and coming from Austria (a country where education is free and the concept of student loans does not really exist), going into debt for the degree was not a viable option. Thus, I accepted an offer from UBC, which came with funding. Still, I felt heavy-hearted, turning down my Oxford offer – I did not want to be the person who turned down Oxford, I wanted to be the person who went to Oxford. As it turned out, I should get to be both: When I reapplied the next year, encouraged by my prospective supervisor, I was once more admitted for the DPhil in Historical Musicology, this time with a scholarship, becoming a Stone-Mallabar Music Scholar at Christ Church.

Initially, though thrilled about the opportunity, I felt unsure whether I would find a home at an old, venerable college like Christ Church, and thought one of the more modern ones might have been a better fit for me, as a staunch intersectional feminist and egalitarian. In retrospect, I am deeply thankful to have spent my degree as a member of the House. This is not because it was in any way a more ‘authentic’ Oxford experience, nor is it due to any popular culture associations with the college (which I was completely unaware of before arriving, and for which I still find myself not much caring). Much more impactful were the unique people I met, shared ideas with, and learned from, as well as the institution itself, its history – both beautiful and problematic – and the way a 500-year-old legacy is carried into the 21st century with grace, compassion, and self-reflection. All of this taught me perhaps more than my actual degree.

My work on historical women composers of the 18th and 19th centuries focussed mostly on Austrian and Central European examples, and specifically on Marianna Martines (1744-1812) as the main protagonist of my thesis. While researching her life and work, I discovered a plethora of other women composers, performers, educators, organisers, patrons (matrons), and salonnières. For, unlike at Christ Church (pardon this tongue-in-cheek remark – which, if we were to look beyond just students and fellows, would probably be quickly disproven), women have been involved in all aspects of music production throughout history. The fact that most people know Mozart but only few have heard of Martines says more about us and the last 200 years of historiography, than it does about women’s contributions to past musical realities. My upcoming recital at Christ Church Cathedral will introduce some of the women I encountered, digging around in archives. Some of the music I am playing has likely not been performed in this century (or the last), other than by me – which feels both exciting and imposing, as I wish to do right by these composers whose music has not been heard in so long.

Judith Valerie Engel (2020, Music) is an Austrian musicologist and concert pianist, who defended her DPhil in Historical Musicology at the University of Oxford in July 2025, and is pursuing a DMA in Piano Performance at the University of British Columbia. At Oxford, she was a Stone-Mallabar Music Scholar, funded by Christ Church, researching the 18th-century composer-performer and salonnière Marianna Martines. At UBC, she is one of the university’s Public Scholars, funded by the Infrastructure and Integration Lab (Department of Sociology), investigating how professional identities of contemporary Canadian women composers are shaped by – and intersect with – age, gender, the myth of meritocracy, and the dominant narrative of white male genius in classical music. Judith Valerie holds a BA and MA in Piano Performance from the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where she trained in the piano studio of Prof. Pavel Gililov. For many years, she also studied with Prof. Paul Badura-Skoda and Prof. Nina Igudesman. Both as a researcher and pianist, Judith Valerie focuses on the intersection of gender and feminist studies with music.

Learn more about Judith Valerie’s work on her website.

Tickets for Judith Valerie's recital on Sunday 16 November, at 8pm, are here.