• Most Respected Classical Music Platform
  • #classicalForever
TOP
(Photo credit: Kate Lemmon)

Conductor Told She "Couldn’t Conduct With A Newborn" Returns to Podium Three Days After Giving Birth

 

Despite being told by a range of industry professionals that motherhood was simply incompatible with a high-level conducting schedule, conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya recently spoke with Good Morning America about breaking that stereotype.

As the Music Director of the Chicago Opera Theater, she conducted the opening of Mark Adamo's opera "Becoming Santa Claus" on December 11, 2021, and gave birth five days later. Only three days after that, she returned to the podium to conduct the closing of the opera. 

Yankovskaya, whose 2022 engagements include concerts with the Chicago Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, says she has always been baffled by comments that suggested conducting was too physical a discipline for women to succeed in.

Born in Russia, she moved to America as a child, arriving in 1986. While female conductors like Marin Alsop have gained considerable ground since that time, there is still a long way to go for equal representation.

Yankovskaya took to Twitter to emit her frustrations about the view of motherhood and

"When I had my first kid, people told me that no one wanted to see a pregnant conductor, that I couldn’t possibly conduct while caring for a newborn, and that being a mother and being a conductor are incompatible," Yankovskaya said. "I forged ahead with virtually no U.S. role models in this endeavor."

"I hope we are beginning to let go of this ridiculous, sexist stigma," she added. "Pregnancy and childbirth are personal matters and do not impair a woman’s ability to judge for herself whether she is in a position to perform."

upcoming events

april 2024

23aprAll Day26Lyon International Chamber Music Competition(All Day) Université Lumière Lyon 2, 18 quai Claude Bernard 69365 Lyon, FranceEvent Type :competitions Event Tagschamber music,chamber music competition,Lyon International Chamber Music CompetitionFOLLOW

may 2024

06may01junQueen Elisabeth Violin Competition(may 6) 12:00 am - (june 1) 11:59 pm Flagey ASBL-VZW, Pl. Sainte-Croix, 1050 Bruxelles, BelgiumEvent Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition,violinFOLLOW

07mayAll Day13Prague Spring International Violin Competition(All Day) Rudolfinum, Alšovo nábř. 79/12, 110 00 Staré město-Staré Město, CzechiaEvent Type :competitions Event TagsPrague Spring International Violin Competition,violin competitionFOLLOW

10mayAll Day1251st Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition(All Day) University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 USAEvent Type :competitions Event TagsFischoff Chamber Music CompetitionFOLLOW

27mayAll Day31New York Classic Violin Competition(All Day) Manhattan School of Music, 130 Claremont Ave, New York, NY 10027Event Type :competitions Event TagsClassic Violin Olympus International Competition,violin competitionFOLLOW

CONTACT US
x

Get ALL our latest conveniently by EMAIL

Our newsletter is trusted by over 100,000+ industry professionals around the world

We deliver news straight to your inbox and will never share your data.
You'll never miss a beat!

click left click right