“This is the strange thing: Dancers don’t age.” Twyla Tharp I am a dancer. Descended from Chicago Dance Royalty my father, Charles Grass, was Bob Fosse’s vaudeville partner and Ruth Page’s assistant. My parents met during an Opera Theater of Chicago production of “The Bohemian Girl,” when Dad served as stage director/choreographer and Mom was […]
Women Conductors
Choral Ethics: Women Conductors
“Nobody would comment on what clothes male conductors wear. Or if they kind of put on some weight or something like that, and maybe their jacket is a little bit too tight. But if that happens to me as a female, then that’s immediately pointed out.” Ruth Reinhardt Several years ago, I was at a […]
Choral Ethics: This Is What A Conductor Looks Like
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” Madeleine K. Albright March is Women’s History Month, and I’ll be blogging about women conductors for a few weeks. But today I’ll begin with a Sarcasm Rant. Women’s History Month is a month when we in the arts feature women composers […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Subtle Sexism in Classical Music
“Sexism is real in this country.” Kamela Harris It’s part of a being woman conductor or composer to be looked on as something unusual. We’re called “strange” or “weird” and certainly not taken seriously. Folks focus on things about us, often not relating to the music, such as what we wear or how we present […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Six Choral/Music Things That Really Irritated Me in 2022!!!!
“I lead a very conventional life. I don’t lead a writer’s life. And I think that can be a source of suspicion and irritation to some people.” Joan Didion Hi ChoralNetters, and Happy New Year. I hope you have begun an exciting and productive time and that 2023 is your best year ever. It is […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Singing Her Praises
Margaret Hillis in 1978, Terry’s Photography “There’s only one woman I know who could never be a symphony conductor, and that’s Venus de Milo.” Margaret Hillis I first learned about the new biography of Margaret Hillis (Margaret Hillis: Unsung Pioneer, Cheryl Frazes Hill, GIA Publications, Inc., Chicago, 2022) last spring. I quickly pre-ordered it from […]