| This study is the result of a question posed by a middle school band director when faced with the question of female brass role models for beginning band students. In an attempt to prove to young beginners that all instruments are 'unisex', he began to recite men who played the flute and clarinet but could not think of any women who played brass instruments. A question was posed which pondered why there are so few professional women brass players when females are at the top of their sections in their high school and college band and orchestra programs. The study developed into a search for professional female trumpet players in the trumpet sections of United States orchestras. To the surprise of the researcher, the results yielded many, including the pioneer women who set the stage for generations to come. But even with the number of women discovered, the data revealed that out of 1030 trumpet players, only 105 were women; a total of approximately 10%. The study developed even further into possible reasons why the numbers were so low. The researcher set out to interview a number of women who have been successful in their quest to make it into these orchestras, as well as a number of women who have made it into these orchestras but are no longer making it their 'primary goal'. Another number have not yet won a permanent position, or are playing in very small orchestras. All of the interviewees believe that the number of women performing in U.S. orchestras will continue to grow, and those that are older have seen significant progress over the years. Most of the women interviewed do not feel that the reason for the lower numbers is because of gender bias, but they all have an instance where they felt that they had to prove their abilities to a man. Another interesting fact to note; when the orchestras were arranged by size and monetary budget, (instead of by state) the number of female trumpet players who were able to win a place in the larger orchestras dwindled to 1%. |
