10 Woman Conductors You Should Know

WFMT

Chicago, IL

In 2007, for the first time in history, a woman (Marin Alsop) was appointed music director of a top 25 orchestra in the United States. Though there is a long way still to go, today’s stages are richer because these pioneering conductors are on them, leading performances that impact communities and change lives. Here are 10 conductors you should know…. who just so happen to be women.

Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya (born 1986) made headlines in 2021 when, just 3 days after giving birth, she returned to the Chicago Opera Theater to conduct the group’s final performance of Becoming Santa Claus. This resilience has become one of the defining characteristics of Yankovskaya’s musical approach. She was named 2020 Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune for her creative opera performances before and during the course of the pandemic, including the world premiere of Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride at COT. Her role as the company’s music director also makes her one of only two women in the United States presently music-directing a major opera company.

In addition to her work with the COT, Yankovskaya has founded the Refugee Orchestra Project, an organization dedicated to uplifting the voices of refugees around the world through music. Yankovskaya has shared that she was inspired to create the project by her own childhood experiences as a refugee fleeing to the United States. In high demand in concert halls and lecture halls around the world, Yankovskaya has conducted more than 40 world premieres to date.