Marin Alsop. Photo source: Marin Alsop’s website.
In Tuesday’s (2/24) San Francisco Classical Voice, Lisa Hirsch writes, “In honor of National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship’s #PurpleBaton social media campaign will continue in 2026. Last year, more than 100 conductors and organizations made #PurpleBaton social media posts. In TACF’s words: ‘#PurpleBaton celebrates women conductors in classical music, advocates for greater representation of women music directors and conductors, and broadcasts support for orchestras to invite more great women conductors onto their podiums.’ Everyone can participate by simply adding the #PurpleBaton hashtag to social media posts. Women conductors are invited to post images or videos of themselves, and to use the posts to discuss their work. Others can post about women conductors they admire, a great recording or performance with a woman conductor, or the first time they heard a woman conduct a performance or recording…. Alsop is a passionate activist for women in conducting, founding the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship in 2002. Renamed the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship (TACF) in 2019, its mission ‘is to mentor, support, and promote women conductors as they advance in their professional careers.’ Currently, only about 11% of conductors, worldwide, are women.”
