Gender in Music
I recently came across a Facebook post where someone stated that they were finding a way for the opposite gender to improve a certain aspect of their musical performance. They were talking down to fellow musicians in a sexist manner. There is a tremendous issue in the music world. There is a misconception that men play saxophone, bassoon, brass, and drum percussion, while women play smaller woodwinds and mallet percussion. It just is not true. The truth is that, regardless of gender, the deciding factors of what makes someone fantastic on their instrument has everything to do with their practice habits, dedication, organization, etc. The expectations of musical performance should be the same regardless as to whether or not they are a man or a woman. As a teacher, that is our job. It is our job to show the future generation that any instrument can be played by any gender. Without going too far into detail, historically, there have been issues with discrimination against women in music; however, would not be smart to underestimate an individual based upon there gender.
A problem I often see as a teacher is parents, peers, and social norms pressuring students away from wanting to play certain instruments just because of their gender. It often steers students away from what they are truly interested in playing and limits their success. It is our jobs as musicians to create an environment where students can be encouraged to play instruments regardless of gender. There have been numerous times in my music career that I have witnessed individuals spend more time complaining that someone of the opposite gender “beat” them or “stole” a spot, while they fail to realize that individual beat them fair and square. While they spent their time complaining, the other individual spent time practicing and becoming more motivated than ever to better themselves.
Below, I have included a list of male and female instrumentalists, composers, and conductors that are all phenomenal people in the music world. They are that: people. Their success has nothing to do with their gender. It has everything to do with how hard they worked, the time they dedicated, and how they sought to improve themselves.
Flute
Emmanuel Pahud
Amy Porter
James Galway
Lisa Garner Santa
William Bennett
Jeanne Baxtresser
Oboe
Linda Strommen
Albrecht Mayer
Elaine Douvas
Richard Woodhams
Linda Strommen
Eugene Izotov
Bassoon
Albrecht Holder
Judith LeClair
Keith Buncke
Julie Price
Gustavo Núñez-
Monica Ellis
Clarinet
Sharon Kam
Martin Fröst
Emma Johnson
Julian Bliss
Shirly Brill
Anthony McGill
Saxophone
Timothy McAllister
Amy Dickson
Nobuya Sugawa
Jess Gillam
Yasuto Tanaka
Candy Dulfer
Trumpet
Mary Elizabeth Bowden
Wynton Marsallis
Tine Thing Helseth
Stephen Burns
Alison Balsom
Chris Martin
Horn
Barry Tuckwell
Sarah Willis
Phillip Farkas
Julie Landsman
Jeff Nelson
Marie-Luise Neunecker
Trombone
Abbie Conant
Joseph Alessi
Megumi Kanda
Ian Bousfield
Jennifer Wharton
Dudley Bright
Baritone/Euphonium
Steven Mead
Misa Mead
Brian Bowman
Sheona White
David Childs
Arisa Makita
Tuba
Carol Jantsch
Øystein Baadsvik
Velvet Brown
Patrick Sheridan
Avital Handler
Roger Bobo
Percussion
Mark Ford
Keiko Abe
Michael Burritt
Evelyn Glennie
Cynthia Yeh
Tim Genis
Violin
Janine Jansen
Itzhak Perlman
Nicola Benedetti
Joshua Bell
Sarah Chang
Nigel Kennedy
Viola
Lawrence Power
Tabea Zimmermann
Yuri Bashmet
Kim Kashkashian
Atar Arad
Nobuko Imai
Cello
Alisa Weilerstein
Yo-Yo-Ma
Natalia Gutman
Julian Lloyd Webber
Jacqueline du Pré
Misch Maisky
Double Bass
Rinat Ibragimov
Diana Gannett
Gary Karr
Orin O’Brien
Bozo Paradzik
Linda McKnight
Composers
John Williams
Julie Giroux
Michael Giacchino
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Brian Balmages
Carol Brittin Chambers
Conductors/Directors
Marin Alsop
Simon Rattle
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Gustavo Dudamel
JoAnn Falletta
Alan Gilbert
