Girl power moves from pop to classical

Women conductors were hard to find even a decade ago.
So 10 years ago Lee Seon-young, 41, was something of a trailblazer ― she was the only woman among the conducting majors at Reims National Conservatory of Music and Dance in France.
Since then, Lee has risen through the ranks to become associate conductor of the Shanghai Philharmonic. She is also the music director of the Paris Unesco Orchestra.
But even so, Lee and other female conductors are rare among those who take the baton.
Simone Young, 47, is a leading proponent of bringing more women to the conductor’s podium. In 2005 the Australian became the first woman to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic as a guest conductor.
This was quite a coup, as the Vienna Philharmonic in Austria was once so chauvinistic that it only accepted its first female member, a harpist, by order of the Austrian government.
Young is currently the music director of Philharmoniker Hamburg.
Her career paved the way for the next generation of female conductors.
“Simone Young is my inspiration,” said Sung Shi-yeon, 32, a guest conductor for the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. “Her energetic management style is really refreshing.”
Lee agreed.
“Now, there so many women who want to be a conductor,” she added.
But why do so few women actually achieve this goal?
Marin Alshop, 52, who is now the music director of the Baltimore Symphony in the United States, answered that question in an interview right after she was hired for her current post.
“It’s because people feel uncomfortable with a woman in authority,” Alshop said.
Sung will lead the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s Jan. 8 concert. The conductor, also a pianist, said her relationship with the orchestra members was positive. “Nowadays, people judge you by your ability, not by your gender,” she said. “When I began studying conducting about 12 years ago, the trend had just begun to change.”

By Kim Ho-jeong JoongAng Ilbo/ Lee Yang-kyoung Staff Reporter [enational@joongang.co.kr]