Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

In 2017, women conductors are arguably somewhat “in vogue” with a raft of recent and high profile appointments alongside increased media coverage, awareness and debate. Nevertheless the statistics on the number of women conductors – particularly those working at the upper-most echelons internationally – paint an indisputable picture. As The League of American Orchestras reports in 2016, the percentage of music directors were 91% male and 9% female. For conducting positions that are not music directorships it was 79% male and 21% female. This presentation will survey current and historic data and industry trends alongside the more recent appearance of gender-specific training and professional programs available to emerging female conductors, namely the Taki Concordia Fellowship, Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors, Royal Philharmonic Society Women Conductors and the New York Conducting Institute’s Womens Conducting Workshop. Presenter Carolyn Watson has participated in the Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors and a recent Southbank Centre Workshop for Women Conductors. She has spent time working with and observing the leading female conductors of our time – Marin Alsop with the Baltimore Symphony, and renowned opera specialists Simone Young and Karen Kamensek.