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It was a pleasure to write this blog for Royal Philharmonic Society (in partnership with ABRSM) about my experiences as a young female conductor and how their course has increased my confidence on the podium. It’s a truly inspiring course, I highly recommend it to any aspiring women conductors!
Here is the blog which can be found on the RPS website:
"As the summer RPS Women Conductors workshops draw closer, we hear from Gabrielle Woodward – a former workshop participant – about her journey as a conductor and how, through opportunities like the Women Conductors programme, she aspires to forge a career.
As a young composer the idea of conducting appealed to me as a way of directing my own pieces and have them performed to match my artistic visions. Even so, at Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama, I remember being thrown in the deep end when I was called out in a workshop to conduct my new brass quintet, having never tried my hand at conducting before. It was a scary experience – standing up in front of a group of people and leading them – but I felt so alive as the ensemble started following my exact gestures.
Later that year I saw Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla make her debut performance with the CBSO at the BBC Proms and felt inspired by the performance as well as the news coverage around the event – a new female conductor! So this is how it began. I wanted to pursue conducting and the following year I took a class at Junior Guildhall and conducted various ensembles at my school.
Since then I’ve been keen to get as much experience conducting as possible. When I started at Oxford University in October 2016, I involved myself in as many projects and ensembles that I could that would also allow me the chance to wave the baton. This included conducting Worcester College Orchestra, Oxford University Symphonic Band, Keble String Ensemble and taking part in workshops with Abingdon Music Festival, Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra and City of Southampton Orchestra all of which allowed me to conduct a wide range of repertoire. The opportunities to conduct in Oxford are extensive and there are so many like-minded young conductors both male and female who inspire each other with the work they do.
When I heard about the RPS Women Conductors course I was very excited to get involved. One of the key things I lacked, as a young conductor, was some of the confidence which my male counterparts demonstrated in rehearsals; particularly in terms of gestures and body language. Immediately our course director Alice Farnham, along with body-language coach Alma Sheehan, addressed this and gave us a series of lessons on presence, leadership and self-confidence on the podium.
My technique leapt forward in the space of two days, as Alice showed us an approach which was different to anything I had previously experienced. After each step forward I became more inspired to conduct professionally and become an advocate for female conductors; I had a new air of confidence which allowed me to start down this path.
Since the workshops I’ve contacted a variety of conductors asking to watch their concert rehearsals and I’ve learned a huge amount watching leaders such as Semyon Bychkov preparing large-scale works. Now an increasing number of conducting opportunities come my way. Just last week I conducted Mozart’s ‘The Impresario’ (featuring Simon Callow in a cameo role!) in which the director, Jonathan Bate, was excited by the prospect of having a female conductor at the heart of the production!
Written by Gabrielle Woodward as part of RPS’s artistic partnership with ABRSM."
Find the original blogpost here: