as RPS Conductors programme enters a brand new section, I chat to founder Alice Farnham & an early participant, Charlotte Corderoy

Alice Farnham with members of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and members of the RPS Ladies Conductors programme on the Glasshouse together with Charlotte Corderoy

In 2014, conductor Alice Farnham fashioned the Ladies Conductors programme, initially at Morley Faculty; she joined forces with the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) to create RPS Ladies Conductors in 2016, then in 2022, in partnership with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (RNS), a brand new high-level course was established in Gateshead at The Glasshouse Worldwide Centre for Music.

Now the programme is taking a brand new step and in June 2025 underneath the brand new identify of RPS Conductors welcomed purposes from any conductors at a sufficiently excessive degree who can articulate how – via their lived expertise, background or private traits – they’ve encountered limitations to progress or restricted entry to an expertise like this, and why it will due to this fact be transformative to their prospects.

This problem of girls conductors removed from resolved, nevertheless. In January 2025, 86% of conductors represented by UK artist managers had been male, and 87% of titled conducting roles at UK orchestras had been held by males. Addressing this stays a precedence for RPS Conductors, and the alternatives offered stay primarily for ladies, trans and non-binary conductors.

Alice Farnham (Picture: Catherine Ashmore)

I just lately spoke to conductor Alice Farnham, concerning the programme from its early founding to the current day, and I additionally chatted to conductor Charlotte Corderoy who was a part of that first consumption, when the primary course was run in Gateshead with the RNS.

In 2013, Marin Alsop carried out the Final Evening of the Proms, the primary girl to take action. This led to dialogue each inside and out of doors classical music about why there weren’t extra girls conductors, why girls weren’t coming via the system, or selecting to not research postgraduate conducting. Alice Farnham was conscious that, regardless of encouragement, her personal progress as a conductor had not been with out difficulties. Loads of girls had been merely not placing themselves within the place within the first place.

This was what is perhaps termed Alice’s ‘lightbulb second’ and for the 2014/2015 season she fashioned the Ladies Conductors programme (WoCo) at Morley Faculty after which in 2016 WoCo moved underneath the auspices of the RPS, which implies that the following cohort (that of 2026) will have a good time ten years of WoCo on the RPS. Inside 5 years, issues had been shifting and extra girls had been coming via as conductors, which had the benefit of encouraging extra girls to contemplate the concept. By way of programmes within the UK, Australia and elsewhere, Alice has now taught over 500 girls. Not all of those select to turn out to be conductors, however many do.

Starting in 2022, the collaboration with RNS created a high-level course geared toward girls in the midst of their coaching. It was not merely geared toward younger girls, but in addition older girls who for numerous causes had both not thought-about taking over conducting or who had been discouraged. The course inspired them to take up conducting later, although Alice acknowledges that it’s tougher taking over new issues later. However they wished to encourage girls who’re sensible musicians and have a lot to supply. It’s tougher additionally, in an trade which appears fascinated by youth and younger conductors. WoCo has had numerous girls, at totally different levels of their profession, take up the problem and Alice may be very happy with what they’ve achieved.

After I spoke to Charlotte Corderory she was in rehearsals for Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne the place she is helping Riccardo Minasi on Mariame Clément‘s new staging. Charlotte took half within the programme’s pilot scheme in 2021, simply out of the pandemic however nonetheless in a time of social distancing, and some of the conductors on that pilot scheme had been prolonged into the official first yr of the programme.

Charlotte Corderoy

For Charlotte, the programme was a sport changer, she had not completed any formal coaching and this was her first time in entrance {of professional} musicians. As she factors out, that is one thing younger conductors won’t expertise till excessive strain conditions resembling auditions or masterclasses. The programme not solely enabled her to work with skilled gamers however with mentors resembling Alice Farnham and get suggestions which was delivered in a productive method. There was additionally the possibility to discover new repertoire and work alongside different conductors who had been at the same level of their careers. That’s was an all-female course meant that there have been different girls conductors within the room, there was camaraderie and a way of the shared expertise of being a feminine conductor, so that you had been inspired and a protected house created.

There have been six girls on that pilot scheme, all had been totally different, at totally different levels of their profession. The bulk had been finding out or had simply accomplished their research, however Charlotte had not began finding out conducting. The programme passed off the Summer time earlier than she went to the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and it was an excellent heat up. She discovered the expertise unbelievable, figuring out issues she wished or wanted to work on, but in addition recognising the issues she bought proper, bolstering her confidence and dealing towards imposter syndrome which is rife. She feels that you will need to consider you’re good at it. Going to the RAM can really feel intimidating, and Charlotte had not been to the Junior Academy and her undergraduate years weren’t on the RAM as she did a music diploma at Oxford which was not specific efficiency focussed.

Her expertise on the RAM was that it was splendidly method primarily based, and the expertise opened her thoughts to all types of questions together with logistics and it was very individuals dealing with, working with a scholar orchestra which required a complete different talent set. Charlotte sees WoCo as a marvellous complement to this conservatoire coaching, the cherry on the cake being the extremely excessive commonplace of orchestral enjoying from the RNS. The gamers within the RNS had been inspired to be very direct in rehearsal, and there have been additionally tailor-made classes completed afterwards. And as every little thing was completed stay, it felt much less like being criticised as a result of any criticism could possibly be productive, used as constructing blocks, placing issues into observe the next day! It’s the form of factor that she feels any conductor can be happy to expertise.

She feels that the programme helps to normalise the enterprise. Charlotte by no means wished the very first thing individuals discover was that she was a girl. So, the programme serves a goal, the extra girls that come via the programme, the extra girls can image themselves on this place. She sees it as a course of of constructing the discourse much less about gender being talked about for the unsuitable causes, placing issues within the right perspective.

Alice finds the connection with RNS a really constructive one and the orchestra is beneficiant in its suggestions to the conductors working with it on the programme. While the orchestral members present suggestions to the conductors, the orchestra will get quite a bit out of it too as they can take into consideration the act of conducting and have constructive conversations with the conductors. When Alice is teaching masterclasses on the programme she goals to be fingers off, in order that she just isn’t successfully taking on; one thing that may be very a lot a hazard in conducting masterclasses. Alice feels that the RNS has a lot to supply, giving the ladies on the programme a unbelievable studying alternative and he or she needs that different orchestras had been in the identical place.

Ever since founding WoCo, Alice was typically requested ‘what was the last word aim?’ and he or she has all the time answered, till we don’t want the programme any extra. That is now being mirrored in method the 2026 cohort, WoCo is adjusting its parameters, and being known as the RPS Conductors programme.

While the stats are nonetheless not sensible, there are many girls coming via and Alice quotes to me figures that display fairly how a lot progress has been made. However as she factors out, this form of profession takes time, and the check might be to see what is going on in ten years when the younger girls coming via are holding positions. In any case, conducting careers should not made in just a few years, however in a long time!

For the 2026 cohort, Alice explains that the programme might be aimed not simply at girls however anybody whose lived expertise is troublesome, in order that the programme addresses a wider vary of inequalities. They’re additionally open to individuals whose careers have chosen an uncommon path or who’ve monetary difficulties, in any case as Alice factors out selecting to review conducting doesn’t come low-cost.

For additional details about the RPS Conductors Programme, see the web site, together with details about the present software process.

• Charlotte is helping Riccardo Minasi at Glyndebourne on Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro – 29 June to 21 August 2025, additional particulars
• Charlotte might be conducting all 4 of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos in a single live performance with pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Boris Giltburg, Ryan Wang and Junyan Chen and the Philharmonia Orchestra at Daring Tendencies in Peckham – 13 September 2025, additional particulars
• Alice might be conducting Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love with English Touring Opera, on tour from 27 September – 22 November 2025, additional particulars
• Charlotte is conducting some performances of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann at Lyon Opera – 16 Dec 2025 to five Jan 2026, additional particulars