On Sunday (12/13) at TheaterJones (Texas), Janice Franklin writes about the Dallas Opera’s inaugural Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors, which took place over nine days in November and December. Selected from more than 100 applicants, the six participants were Jennifer Condon, Jessica Gethin, Natalie Murray Beale, Stephanie Rhodes, Anna Skryleva, and Lidiya Yankovskaya. The six speak in the article “about a range of topics, from their perceptions of self and marketing, to their preparation process for new projects, and their views on the role of the conductor in building audience…. The conductors were united in their belief that being a female is inconsequential to being a good conductor, and that any pressure felt is from being a conductor, not from being a conductor who happens to be female.” Keith Cerny, Dallas Opera’s general director and CEO, notes that part of his motivation in starting the program came from “statistics developed by the League of American Orchestras for the period 2012-2013.… Of the 103 high-budget American orchestras, only 12 were female.” Conductors must be age 40 or younger for the Dallas program; Dallas Opera Music Director Emmanuel Villaume and Principal Guest Conductor Nicole Paiement worked with the six conductors.
Posted December 16, 2015
