Classical music is now asking itself the same sort of questions political parties were forced to ask in the 1980s. Namely, how to combat gender inequality when it comes to conducting? And a U.K. college has initiated a women-only conducting course.
The issue has flared up again over the last year in particular due to some ill-judged comments by some prominent individuals in the music world. But it's clearly a problem, with so many more men wielding the conductor's baton than women.
The question will be what a females-only course will achieve that a mixed course wouldn't. The obvious answer would be that it would get over any feeling of awkwardness an aspiring female conductor might have, which would suggest that there's a social stigma. Is this true? Or are we getting the whole motivation wrong?
In any case, if it helps more women who want to conduct achieve their goal, great! The college in question is Morley College in London. The course was held this month.
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