Women Conductors!

The above image and the following was taken from

a blog called "A Mighty Girl." I thought you might enjoy!

"Love this brilliant image celebrating women conductors! It beautifully illustrates the focus, determination, and artistry that it takes for a conductor to direct a stellar performance, but rarely do you see such a montage featuring women. Although women conductors have become more common in recent years, they are still highly underrepresented on the podium. According to the League of American Orchestras, as of 2013, of the 103 ensembles with the biggest budgets in the US, 12 have female conductors; just one of the top-tier 22 is led by a woman. At A Mighty Girl, we look forward to seeing many of the Mighty Girls of today raising the conductor’s baton in the future!

The conductors featured in this image from Classic FM are from left to right, top to bottom: Anu Tali, co-founder of the Nordic Symphony Orchestra; Joana Carneiro, principal conductor of the Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa; JoAnn Falleta, who has conducted for over 70 recordings, including albums focused on the works of female composers; Han-na Chang, renowned as both a cello soloist and a conductor; Sarah Ioannides, the first female music director for the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra; Barbara Hannigan, operatic singer and conductor; Shi-Yeon Sung, associate conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic; Susanna Malkki, who will become the chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra next year; and Marin Alsop, conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the first female conductor to direct the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms concert.

Do you have a favorite female conductor who isn't pictured? Please share a photo or tell us about her in the comments below.

For a fun way to help kids create their own musical compositions, we highly recommend the delightful card game Compose Yourself for ages 6 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/compose-yourself-music-card-game

For two excellent picture books about Mighty Girls who love to play orchestral instruments, we highly recommend "Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay" for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/ada-s-violin) and "Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin" for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/hana-hashimoto-sixth-violin)

If you'd like to introduce children and teens to the oft-neglected stories of female musicians and composers, you can find many books in our "Creative Arts" book section at http://amgrl.co/2ibkDIQ

And, to encourage your children's interest in the arts, check out our blog post, "Growing Creativity: 60 Arts and Crafts Toys for Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10465