Iconic Welsh soprano and pop singer Charlotte Church will deliver the third BBC Radio 6 Peel Lecture next month, focusing on the subject of women in the music industry.

The lecture is set to take place on October 14th, and has previously been given by music figures Pete Townshend, of The Who fame – who discussed the implications of digital music media – and folk-punk musician Billy Bragg, who emphasised the need for ‘mavericks’ to keep music moving forward. It is named for the presenter John Peel, who was a Radio 1 DJ from 1967 until his death in 2004, and is regarded as one of the industry’s most important and progressive figures.

Charlotte Church is among the most recognisable and successful figures in modern classical music, beginning her career aged just 11 when she sang ‘Pie Jesu’ on the UK talk show, ‘This Morning’. Her debut album, ‘Voice of an Angel’, a collection of arias and traditional songs, went platinum in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, and made the then 12-year old Church the youngest artist to reach number 1 on the classical music charts. She continued her classical success with a self-titled second album in 1999 and a festive release, ‘Dream A Dream’ in 2000. After a foray into showtunes with 2001’s, ‘Enchantment’, Church saw a reinvention as a more commercial pop singer in 2005, achieving chart success with her pop-focused fifth album, ‘Tissues and Issues’. A brief career break ensued, during which Church focused on becoming a mother, and hosting the short lived ‘Charlotte Church Show’, before making a return to music in 2010 with another pop album, ‘Back to Scratch’. In more recent years, Church’s music has seen a shift towards an alternative rock sound, with a series of EP’s, entitled, ‘One’, ‘Two’ and, ‘Three’.

Church said she felt, ‘honored’ to be asked to give the Peel lecture, and that she was, ‘looking forward to encouraging a healthy debate around this important topic.’

The BBC Radio 6 Peel lecture will take place on 14th October, and will be aired later that night.