We can’t talk about great conductors of recent times without taking into account Marin Alsop. Born in New York City in 1956, Marin was immersed in music from her birth, beginning to learn the piano aged 2!

The true magic began in 1965 when, after hearing Leonard Bernstein conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Marin was sure she would become a conductor. In 2007, she became the first woman to direct the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra full-time and the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms in 2013.

Yet, despite her colossal talent, Alsop still had to struggle through sexist attitudes: ‘The conductor is the ultimate authority figure and people are still not comfortable with women in those roles’, she said on her website.

Alondra de la Parra

What makes a conductor great?

“The obvious things like complete mastery of the music, but imagination is very, very important. You can be the best musician but be so boring that nobody wants to play for you. It has to go back to vulnerability in a way. Be available.”

38 year old Alondra de la Parra is one of the most famous conductors of her generation. Born in New York and raised in Mexico, she discovered her passion for musical direction at the young age of 13. In 2004, she became the first Mexican woman to head a 65-piece orchestra in New York.

Throughout her career, Parra has had clear goals, one of which is changing stereotypes: ‘When I was a kid, I said, “If I’m not an old man with white hair, I can’t be a conductor.” But that’s not what music comes from; it comes from your soul, your mind, your grit, your experiences as a person, and the way you relate to people. There’s only one thing you can be when you get to the podium, and if I am a 31-year-old woman who likes to dress like a woman, then I am happy to be that’, she told The Georgia Straight.

Susanna Mälkki

“Composers praise Mälkki for her ability to understand and distill the essential materials in their scores and communicate their ideas clearly through an orchestra to an audience.”

The Los Angeles Times

Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki is also one of the most prominent female conductors of recent years. At a young age, she had a strong interest in music, which became stronger from the age of 10 when she began to practice cello seriously. Mälkki is now acclaimed for her orchestral technique and her interpretations.

Regarding the questions that are regularly asked about the difficulties of being a woman in a male dominated environment, she answered in the Financial Times in 2015: “I think I’m done with the subject. I gave it a lot of thought earlier but there is nothing you can say in one sentence that covers the whole thing so I prefer to keep quiet and get on with my work. I’m a musician and that’s it really.”

Simone Young

“I have no problems with being a pioneer in the industry, or with discussing the issues that women may face, but I intensely dislike being defined as a woman conductor. I am a conductor with 30 years’ experience, 25 of those with some of the finest opera houses and orchestras in the world.”

Born in Sydney in 1961, Simone began studying music at the Conservatoire where she learnt piano, composition and orchestral conducting. She went on to become the Principal Conductor at the Australian Opera between 2001-2003.

Despite her success and her disdain for being defined by her sex, Young still encountered sexist attitudes: “There was a long period where, in every opera house I went to, I was the first woman conducting, and people would say such funny things thinking they were paying you a compliment. Things like, ‘Do you know, five minutes into the rehearsal I’d completely forgotten you were a woman!’ It’s like, okay, what am I supposed to say to that?”

Far from being discouraged, she accepted the dual role of Artistic Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Musical Director of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005 to 2015. A rare double position for a female figure in classical music.

JoAnn Falletta

“Falletta is a model of efficiency and technical prowess that has always been fascinating to watch.”

Joseph Dalton, TimesUnion

JoAnn Falletta studied at the Mannes School of Music in New York where her interest in conducting began. Falletta also studied the art of orchestral direction at the prestigious Julliard School. From 1986 to 1997, she took the position of Music Director for the San Francisco Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra, whose repertoire consisted of more than 150 works. Then, in 1998, she made history by becoming the first woman to serve as Musical Director for a significant American orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic (even before Alsop).

From an early age, JoAnn tried to rid herself of male pressures, thanks to a certain naivety as she explained to the record label Naxos in 2011: “I wanted to be a conductor when I was nine years old. And for years I was quite unaware that women weren’t ‘supposed’ to conduct. I simply, and very naïvely, fell in love with the symphony orchestra, and with the repertoire. I fell in love with the whole concept of musicians working together to create unbelievable beauty. It was only when I was 16 or 17, and eagerly heading for music school, that I began to hear people saying: “But wait! Women have never really been successful as conductors. And it’s still very difficult.”