Marin Alsop Documentary "The Conductor" Receives Emmy Nomination

Directed by Bernadette Wegenstein, the film has been nominated in the Best Arts and Culture Documentary category

A documentary film that traces the life and work of American conductor Marin Alsop has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Best Arts and Culture Documentary category. Directed by Bernadette Wegenstein and titled The Conductor, the film had its first television airing in March 2022 as part of PBS's Great Performances series.

The documentary traces Alsop's life through a series of interviews, covering both her professional and her private life. In addition, it includes previously unseen archival footage of Alsop working with her mentor Leonard Bernstein, as well as depicting her work in the present day with the young female conductors on the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship.

The film also focuses on Alsop's status as a trailblazer for women in the conducting profession. Alsop was appointed Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2007 — and up until that time, it was "more likely for a woman to be a four-star officer in the United States military than to lead a major American symphony orchestra," according to Michael Cooper of The New York Times.

The Conductor won the 2021 Focus on the Arts Award at the Naples International Film Festival, and has been screened at film festivals around the world.

You can view the trailer for the documentary below.