The best female conductors

From dynamic orchestral conductors to inspiring choral leaders, here are the best female conductors working today

Published: January 31, 2024 at 11:12 am

The question 'why aren't there more women conductors?' remains as relevant in today's music industry as it always has been. There are several women, though, whose work against this trend has been instrumental in getting superb female conductors seen on the podiums of the world's greatest stages and they are worth celebrating. Here are the best female conductors on stage today.

Best women conductors working today

1. Marin Alsop

Marin Alsop made history when she became the first female conductor of a major US symphony orchestra when appointed to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2007. Six years later she made history again when she became the first ever woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms.

In 2023, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London announced that Marin Alsop had been appointed principal guest conductor. She joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2024 in the same position, taking over from Nathalier Stutzmann.

2. Gisèle Ben-Dor

Currently conductor laureate of the Santa Barbara Symphony, the Uruguayan conductor has won particular praise for her performances of South American works.

3. Odaline de la Martinez

Martinez is the conductor who holds the historic record for being the first woman ever to conduct at the BBC Proms in 1984. The Cuban-born musician is founder of contemporary music ensemble Lontano, and appears as a guest conductor with leading orchestras around the world.

4. Sian Edwards

English conductor Sian Edwards shot to prominence as music director at English National Opera between 1993 and 95. She conducted a programme of Britten, Holst, Berkeley and Tippett with the Britten Sinfonia at the 2013 Proms. She is involved in contemporary music projects and has taught and given masterclasses at the UK's top conservatoires.

5. JoAnn Falletta

Music director of Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta has made a reputation for herself recording important but seldom-heard works. When she was named the orchestra's music director in 1998, Falletta became the first female conductor to lead a major American orchestra. She previously held the role of music director at the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, stepping down in 2020, and has conducted many of the top US orchestras.

6. Jane Glover

The former music director of the London Mozart Players and Glyndebourne Touring Opera appeared regularly on TV in the 1980s. Currently music director of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, Glover is also director of opera at the Royal Academy of Music. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Years Honours for services to music. She has written books including Mozart's Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music and Handel in London: The Making of a Genius. Glover is best known for her opera conducting, and in 2013 she became the third woman in history to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

7. Emmanuelle Haïm

Emmanuelle Haïm is a brilliant French Baroque specialist who has set the opera world alight with her own Le Concert d’Astrée ensemble.

8. Susanna Mälkki

Finnish conductor and former music director of the Ensemble intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 2009. She began her tenure as chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic in 2016, and the following year principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

She followed Jane Glover in becoming the fourth woman in history to lead a production at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016 in the company's first ever production of Kaija Saariaho's L'Amour de loin

9. Andrea Quinn

The British conductor Andrea Quinn, former music director of The Royal Ballet and New York City Ballet, has conducted most of the world’s leading ballet companies.

10. Simone Young

The Australian conductor Simone Young’s posts have included chief conductor of Opera Australia and the Hamburg Philharmonic. She is the current chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the first woman to hold this role. She became familiar to TV audiences as a judge on the BBC’s Maestro! TV series in 2008.

11. Xian Zhang

Xian Zhang became the first female conductor in a titled post with any BBC orchestra when she was announced as the principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2015. In 2019, she was announced as principal guest conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

12. Barbara Hannigan

Already famous as a soprano, performing roles like Berg’s Lulu, Handel oratorios or cutting-edge contemporary new music, Barbara Hannigan has also made a name for herself as a conductor, beginning in 2011 with Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre.

13. Alice Farnham

A British conductor who trained at the St Petersburg Conservatoire, Alice Farnham has an international reputation working with the Mariinsky Theatre in Stravinsky’s Rape of Lucretia and at the Royal Opera House.

She is keen to inspire the next generation of conducting talent and is artistic director of the Women Conductors with the Royal Philharmonic Society programme.

14. Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

The Lithuanian conductor made newspaper headlines when she was named as the new chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) in 2016, at the age of 29. She was the first woman to hold that post and only the third female chief conductor of a major British orchestra. In 2021, the CBSO announced that she would be moving into the principal guest conductor position.

Previously associate conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gražinytė-Tyla was also music director of the Salzburg Landestheater in Austria.

In 2019, Gražinytė-Tyla signed exclusively to Deutsche Grammophon.

15. Elim Chan

The first female winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, in 2014, Hong Kong-born Chan was assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2015-16. She has also held roles as chief conductor at Norrlands Opera in Umea, Sweden, principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and was appointed a Dudamel Fellow at the LA Philharmonic.

She is currently chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.

16. Han-Na Chang

The highly regarded cellist made the switch to conducting in 2007, and has worked with a host of prestigious orhestras. After a bruising experience with the Qatar Philharmonic, she became the chief conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the first woman to hold this position. She has since been appointed principal guest conductor of Symphoniker Hamburg – Laeiszhalle Orchester.

17. Joana Carneiro

Portuguese Carneiro is the former music director of the Berkeley Symphony and principal conductor of the Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa. She came to attention with the successful UK premiere of John Adams's The Gospel According to the Other Mary at English National Opera. Earlier in her career she was assistant conductor with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

18. Alondra de la Parra

Alondra de la Parra was just 23 when she founded her own ensemble, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. The Mexican previously held the role of music director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the first female conductor in post at the orchestra.

19. Laurence Equilbey

Conductor and musical director of the historically informed Insula Orchestra and Accentus choir, Laurence Equilbey is one of France's leading conductors. She also runs the Paris's newest concert hall, La Seine Musicale.

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