Women musicians stand ready to modernize a
Classical World By Marti Ebbert Kurth Photo by Brenda Ahearn, for GSC
Sally Jerde stands before the violinists of the Glacier Symphony before turning to tune the orchestra. Raman’s comparison shows further that 82 percent of those orchestra’s concertmasters are male and 18 percent are female. Even more discouraging for women is that of those 20 orchestras there is only one with a female music director: Marin Alsop of the Baltimore Symphony. Raman concludes, “if you are going to an orchestra concert, there will likely be a man leading the symphony.” In an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian, Alsop said: “There is no logical reason to stop women from conducting. The baton isn’t heavy. It weighs about an ounce. No superhuman strength is required. Good musicianship is all that counts. As a society we have a lack of comfort in seeing women in these ultimate authority roles. Still, none of the ‘big five’ orchestras has had a female music director.” Her remarks came in response to a recent (2013) comment by Russian conductor, Vasily Petrenko, the 37-year-old principal conductor of the National Youth Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. He claimed orchestras “react better when they have a man in front of them,” adding “a sweet girl on the podium can make one’s thoughts drift towards something else.” Even New York Philharmonic conductor Zubin Mehta is quoted as saying, “I just don’t think women should be in an orchestra.” Aside from the obvious sexism, one might argue that conducting and concertmaster roles are narrowing for both men and women as symphony orchestras fight for relevance in our pop-music-obsessed world. But Raman’s 2014 graph makes it clear that women still need to prove themselves as serious contenders in the world of professional music. (view it at http://subyraman.tumblr.com/post/102965074088/graphing-gender-in-americas-top-orchestras) This is not say that an effort has not been made to change the situation. A study done for the National Bureau of Economic Research by authors and economists Claudia Goldin and Cecelia Rouse shows some improvement of bias by male conductors against female performers. The study, titled “Orchestrating Impartiality: the Impact of ‘Blind’ Auditions on Female Musicians,” found that as recent as 1980 the “big five” musical ensembles – the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and
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In our post-feminist modern era it is encouraging to see how women are filling leadership roles across a spectrum of jobs. But there is one arena where women keep bumping against the glass ceiling of leadership and that is in professional symphonic orchestras. A recent study done by researcher, Suby Raman, graphs the 20 largest US orchestras and shows that on average the pool of musicians consists of 67 percent men and 37 percent women. Only one elite orchestra has more women than men: the St. Louis Symphony.
Philadelphia Orchestra – had only 10 percent women musicians even though the pool of well-qualified graduates from places like New York’s Juilliard School of Music included 45 percent women. The authors note that “at about this same time (1980) the Musician’s Union began pushing a new hiring strategy. Not only was there a movement away from the “inside-track” and “old boy network” and toward open auditions, but also to a new audition format, the “blind audition.” Musicians either played behind a screen or the reviewers themselves sat behind such dividers. Audition areas were also carpeted and/or women musicians were asked to remove their shoes so that an escorting personnel manager could make male-sounding footsteps. These changes ensured that musicians were judged on sound, not gender.”
They report that the outcome of these blind auditions “… provided changes that were immediate and strikingly favorable to women. Even the New York Philharmonic, with Zubin Mehta at its head, hired women for an incredible 45 percent of new positions once blind auditions were instituted.”
Though our corner of Western Montana is somewhat removed from the world of professional orchestras we are fortunate to have a wealth of talented musicians, both men and women, along with committed professional music directors who bring us full concert seasons of the world’s greatest music. In fact, with Montana’s seven independent Symphony organizations based in Kalispell, Missoula, Great Falls, Helena, Butte, Bozeman and Billings there are year-round opportunities statewide to hear great classical music – and that’s in a state with a population of only a million people!
Concertmistress or Concertmaster? What’s in a name?
With the appointment of Sally Jerde as concertmaster of the Glacier Symphony in the fall of 2013, Music Director John Zoltek, demonstrates the trend to modernize the American orchestra.
Sally says she feels her title has little to do with gender and more to do with her ability to perform her job. “I prefer the term concertmaster because I am mastering the concert we are performing. It’s not necessarily a gender position, I focus on the art of the piece.” But she also recognizes the significance of her new position. “I have been very lucky that I grew up during the time when women were beginning to be accepted as professional musicians. I have certainly had to ‘prove’ myself both in playing stability and mental stability. There have been countless times I have played in a small pit orchestra for a show where I was the only female. When these shows are played eight times a week, for weeks on end, a girl learns not to be too sensitive. I feel very fortunate that I was so kindly welcomed into my position with the Symphony.”
The Concertmaster’s Role
Jerde explains that as concertmaster her job is to be prepared and know the piece inside and out so she knows what other musicians are playing in all the instrument sections across the orchestra. “For instance if the horns have a big solo, I listen to know when to come in and keep the energy going and not let it fall stagnant within the violin section.” She also keeps her ears open if there are timing mistakes within the other sections and reiterates cues from the conductor for dynamics. Her position at front row center, on the right side of the violin section just at the conductors left, often puts her out of the sightline of many of the musicians. She says she relies on a sort of “organic” consciousness between herself and the rest of orchestra. “My music stand partner and I move in sync together and it flows throughout the whole strings section.” Her next most important task is to set the ‘bowing’ for the stringed instruments. “I would say this is hardest part of what I do. I go through the whole piece of music and using my best judgment decide whether we are going to use a ‘downbow’ or an ‘up-bow.’ A down-bow is when you pull the bow across the strings starting at the base or frog of the bow. An up-bow is pushing the bow upward starting from the tip. A down-bow is very powerful as the weight of the hand and