WA program helping female musicians become conductors
Fewer than 10 per cent of conductors for the world's great orchestras are women. Opportunities for women to learn and master the art, have been limited to non-existent, prompting one talented musician to launch a program like no other in Australia.
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00:00 "One, two, three, four, one."
00:07 These women are learning to be conductors.
00:14 Already professional musicians, they stand on the podium, something very few women are
00:20 doing across the world.
00:21 "When you get to the high end professional placement, we're talking about 2%, it's up
00:29 to almost 8% internationally now."
00:36 Jessica Gevan conducts orchestras across Australia and around the world.
00:41 "I'd never seen it done by other women, I hadn't had a role model up there doing it."
00:47 While working for Perth Symphony Orchestra, she came up with an idea to teach other women.
00:52 "I had no support as a conductor starting out, so it kind of was a little bit of a response
00:58 to that to be able to enable other women to take this journey."
01:05 She created the Women on the Podium program in 2017, which takes in about 20 aspiring
01:10 female conductors each year.
01:12 "It's really important to be creating a space for them so that they can learn and grow and
01:19 be mentored by women on the podium."
01:23 About 100 women have now been through the program.
01:26 "Seeing other women stepping up, it gives you an idea that, oh yes, I can do that too."
01:31 "How do you gesture that?"
01:33 "Being with other women in the program and seeing even just them getting up and conducting
01:39 more, you just have more confidence to do so yourself."
01:42 "I've got a year 5 cello student who I accompany every week and she's told me every week that
01:47 she wants to be a conductor and it makes me really excited that this program exists because
01:52 I can go, 'check this out, you have this pathway.
01:55 This is laid out for you.'"
01:57 The program now attracts women from across the country and is funded through grants and
02:01 donations.
02:02 For more information visit www.fema.gov.au/women-on-the-podium.
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