Discounting Our Colleagues: Gender Inequity in the Choral Conducting Profession

It is not a secret that women are considered second-class regarding hiring practices, pay, and treatment by their peers. In the field of choral music, there is no difference. Since 2006, the percentage of collegiate women choral conductors has decreased by 7%, with only a quarter of the conductors being women. In 2013, Marin Alsop was the only woman to hold a conducting position in one of the top 100 orchestral ensembles. In 2023, there are now eight women conductors leading a top orchestra. The author shares interviews with twelve leading women choral choral and orchestral conductors across the United States in this article.

The author shares information regarding twelve choral and orchestral conductors' lives, educational experiences, and career opportunities in this article. Of these ladies, seventy-five percent of the women felt that, at some point, they did not receive a job opportunity based on their gender. While many women had little educational experience with other women, they spoke highly of their learning experience and their peers. The author also provided encouragement and recommendations for their female peers in the career, provided by the participants and their responses. These words of encouragement include seeking out women mentors, seeking community support, never waiting for someone to give you permission, and more.

As much as we discuss the importance of diversity and change in this world, it is a shame that we still have to fight for equal opportunity. What makes it worse is that this will continue to be a topic and issue of discussion for many years to come. As I look back over my time in the field of music, I can only think of four female conductors I have had the privilege of working with, and honestly, they were some of the finest conductors in the choral and orchestral realm. The first was my undergraduate professor, Dr. Oedia Hatcher, the orchestral music director at the University of Lynchburg. The second was Marin Alsop, as I sang under her tutelage several times as a Morgan State University graduate student in the choir. The last but most important two to me were my graduate choral conducting instructors at Messiah University, Dr. Joy Meade and Dr. Rachel Cornacchio.

While these ladies were introduced to me over twenty years of my career, I have always wondered why more women were not leading some of these ensembles I had encountered. As the author notes in their article, to embrace equity and equality, we must first start with “the recognition of actual people and experiences.” With that, I have made an effort with my ensembles to highlight the importance of minority voices in my work. I hope that others will join in on these efforts in making the right choice in moving forward and supporting our female musicians.