Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Marin Alsop, Conductor
Marin Alsop – Conductor (USA)
First female conductor at the Last Night of the Proms 2013
In the book Girls Can Do Anything we tell readers that girls can be firefighters and builders, police officers and lawyers, sports people, musicians, writers and many other things. And in the back of the book, we have created a gallery of inspirational women, to prove to children that what we say in the book is true.
The classical music industry has a long history of excluding women. Pick any well known composer and I can pretty much guarantee he’s male. This includes performers, composers and conductors. In 2014 Bachtrack reported that of the world’s 150 top conductors, only five were women. Five. That’s just 3%.
I chose Marin Alsop to feature in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women because she was the first woman to ever conduct a major US symphony orchestra. That was in 2007 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Then, in 2013, she became the first woman to conduct the infamous Last Night of the Proms, the iconic concluding performance in the eight week long Proms concerts held every year at The Royal Albert Hall in London. The significance of the last night is that the music is generally lighter-hearted and includes more popular classics that encourage audience participation. It is, essentially, the people’s concert and is usually broadcast on national television.
Anyway, the Proms have been around for over 120 years, yet it took until 2013 for organisers to choose a female conductor. In her speech at the event, Marin said:
“I’m shocked that [in] 2013 there still can be firsts for women ...I want to say to all the young women out there ... believe in yourselves … because you will create a future filled with possibility.”
I want to show children that women can succeed in any chosen career, including classical music. Marin Alsop is proof.
Sources:
Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.