Women on the Choral Conducting Podium

Book excerpt: This project examined the historical role of women as composers, music educators, orchestral performers, orchestral conductors, and choral conductors. The focus of the project was on the gender of conductors of honor choirs sponsored by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) from 2000 to 2012. Data illustrated that gender inequity continues to exist in the choral podium of high-profile honor choir ensembles. Of special note were the statistics revealing that male conductors of mixed honor choirs (SATB) in both organizations outnumbered females by over 3 to 1.