Let’s call it a growth opportunity. In 1971, only 1.4 percent of the orchestras registered in The Musicians Guide were led by women. Ten years later, that number was slightly higher; 4.3 percent of orchestras in the annual American Orchestra League Directory published by Symphony Magazine had women directors. By 1988, the number was 56 out of 845. That's still less than seven percent. Today, that number is only marginally improved.
Much has been written about the reasons why, when women are putting the biggest cracks in the glass ceiling ever, so few orchestras have female conductors. (Maybe in Rochester we don’t see the big picture since the nearby Buffalo Philharmonic has a conspicuous and capable leader in JoAnn Falletta.) This article and editorial take a fresh look at inequality in the concert hall.
