NCH addresses gender imbalance with the NCH Female Conductor Programme
The inaugural Female Conductor Programme in the National Concert Hall comes to a close after 10 months this June 27th with a performance in the main room of the prestigious venue. On the evening, three of the twelve participants will each conduct the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s 1st Symphony under the guidance of British composer Sian Edwards.
The participants of the programme each come from varying musical backgrounds ranging from students of composition to piano teachers. Having launched in September 2017, they spent the course of the programme working with an array of composers and musicians, most notably the British conductor Alice Farnham amongst others. The programme included three intensive weekends of workshops and tutoring, on-going mentorship with local and international composers and online tutorials over the course of the ten months.
The NCH Female Conductor Programme is one of the first of its kind in the world whose inception was prompted by the gender imbalance within the music industry, in particular within the world of conducting. This problem is ripe in many areas of the music industry, and programmes like this are crucial in tackling it.
Tickets are priced at €10 / €5 for students and are available here.
