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closeThursday, Oct. 22, 2009
In classical music, a woman on the podium is still the exception
A woman on the podium is still the exception, but conductors such as Mei-Ann Chen and Rei Hotoda are making inroads
By CHRIS SHULL
Special to dfw.com
reihotoda.com
Rei Hotoda will lead the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in a Halloween family concert today at the Meyerson Symphony Center. reihotoda.com
Alsop
FWSO
Mei-Ann Chen, who has aspired to be a conductor since age 10, will lead the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s all-Tchaikovsky program. FWSO
Caldwell
FORT WORTH — From the first moment she played violin in a youth orchestra in Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen wanted to be a conductor.
"I was a rather quiet child, so when I saw this form of communication that was body language, that was for me," Chen said. "I was so excited; I went home, I told my parents that is what I wanted to do."
But her parents, otherwise supportive of their 10-year-old daughter’s musical ambitions, were skeptical. They wanted Chen to be a concert violinist; they didn’t think there were opportunities for women on the podium.
Many still share that skepticism. Of all the inroads made by women in classical music in the past 50 years — and in all walks of life, for that matter — a woman conducting a symphony orchestra is still rare.
But this week, the symphonies of Fort Worth and Dallas will be conducted by women. Sunday, Rei Hotoda will lead the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in a Halloween family concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center. And Friday through Nov. 1 at Bass Hall, Chen will lead the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in an all-Tchaikovsky program.
Hotoda is the DSO’s assistant conductor; Chen is assistant with the Baltimore Symphony. They have benefitted from changing attitudes about women on the podium, and from mentoring by Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony and one of the leading conductors — man or woman — in the world.
Rare, but no big deal
There has been a surge in the number of female conductors over the past few years. Alsop in Baltimore, JoAnn Falletta in Buffalo, Eve Queler in New York City — all lead ensembles with distinction.
But even a casual glance at concert schedules shows that there are not that many female conductors around. Of the 21 classical programs to be presented by the DSO this season, not one will be conducted by a woman.
On the other hand, Hotoda, as the orchestra’s assistant conductor, will conduct the orchestra at least 30 times this season, leading pops concerts, youth education concerts, family concerts and other programs.
Of the FWSO’s 10 classical programs, only the upcoming Tchaikovsky program conducted by Chen will be led by a maestra, not a maestro.
"It is a bit unusual to have a woman on the podium," said Adriana DeCosta, principal second violinist with the FWSO. "In the 21 years I’ve been in the orchestra we’ve only had one other woman."
This is not about institutional prejudice, they say. Rather, it’s about numbers.
"Yeah, you don’t see a woman on the podium a lot, but how many conductors are there in the world," DeCosta said.
Not so many, when compared to the many women in symphony orchestras and those making the rounds as concert soloists.
The ranks of female conductors are growing, helped by university and conservatory programs that encourage women to study conducting, and by leading female conductors such as Alsop, who encourage the younger ones.
Alsop as mentor
Chen and Hotoda were recipients of the Taki Concordia Fellowship, a program founded by Alsop and others to help jump-start the careers of promising female conductors.
Besides receiving lessons from Alsop, winners also rehearse and conduct a piece on a classical subscription program with an American orchestra.
"As a conductor, you don’t have an orchestra to practice on all the time," Hotoda explained. "The fact I was able to stand in front of a professional orchestra, and to work with Marin and have her make suggestions and fine tune-you while you’re up on the podium, was so invaluable."
Conducting an evening classical program — as opposed to a morning youth concert or an afternoon parks program — is a significant step in any conductor’s career. Critics, music-industry professionals and influential board members attend those evening concerts; a good showing — and a good review in a newspaper or online — can be a significant jump in a conductor’s career.
"The best part of the fellowship is something that this field does not have, which is giving us opportunity to be exposed to the network," Chen said.
Also, symphony musicians are really a tight-knit community. When a conductor does well, word gets around.
Still many firsts
Fifty years ago, a woman’s presence in an orchestra was a big deal. That has certainly changed, especially in America. A quick head count of the FWSO reveals that of the 74 regular players, 33 are women, with six acting as section leaders. In the DSO, 36 of 94 musicians are women, and five of them are principals.
"I don’t think there’s gender bias anymore in the orchestras," said Doug Howard, principal percussionist of the DSO.
An article in The Juilliard Journal in March 2005 notes the presence of women on orchestra podiums throughout the 1900s. (Google "women conductors" and you can link to the article "Pioneers of the Podium," by Anita Mercier.) Nadia Boulanger, a composer famous for her Paris salon, in 1936 became the first woman to conduct the London Philharmonic and, in the 1940s, the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
That "firsts" for female conductors are still being recorded shows inequalities exist.
Sarah Caldwell was the first woman to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera — in 1976. When Alsop began her tenure as music director with the Baltimore Symphony in 2007, she was touted as the first woman to lead a major U.S. orchestra. She has made the first recordings by a woman of the four symphonies by Brahms, and the first recording by a woman of a Mahler symphony.
Female conductors face challenges that might never occur to a man.
"Like concert dress," Chen observed. "How do you dress in a way that is unique to your style but that enhances your skills as a conductor? Men are so much simpler — there’s the tuxedo and the baton."
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has contributed to the increasing presence of women on the podium — in addition to Hotoda, Kate Tamarkin and Keri-Lynn Wilson served as assistant conductors there in the 1990s. Both maintain significant careers.
The next big step in the ongoing elevation of female conductors will be when more women step up from posts as assistant, associate and guest conductors to become full-fledged music directors.
"That is where I see the most difference when it comes to whether being a woman conductor makes a difference — whether a city is ready to have an arts leader that is a woman," Chen said. "I think you will see a surge of women music directors in a couple years."
Just do it
Chen and Hotoda say they have benefited from changes in society and the efforts of female conductors before them. Both say they have never felt discrimination from musicians, management or audiences.
"I just think it is a preconceived notion — people are expecting a male to come onto the podium," Hotoda said. "After they see me conduct, I think they are more comfortable with it."
Both also say they believe the biggest hindrance at the start of their careers was their youth, not their gender — the same inexperience that dogs any prospective conductor.
At the New England Conservatory of Music, Chen used scholarship money that she earned as a violinist to buy meals to entice her friends to play for her so she could practice conducting.
"When musicians see someone on the podium, they want to see if you’ve got the stuff," Chen said. "If you’ve got the stuff to get things done, then it is no longer a gender issue."
Musicians agree.
"When there’s a person on the podium, I don’t care if they are 25 or 65, male or female, bald or fat — it’s what they bring to the podium that interests me," DeCosta said. "Is there artistry there? Is there something that speaks their spirit through the music?"
"On the podium, it just doesn’t matter," Howard said. "Either somebody can do it or they can’t."
Bass Hall
$9-$78
817-665-6000; www.fwsymphony.org
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