In May 2022, I presented at the International Women's Brass Conference at the University of North Texas.
Presentation Abstract: Why are gender norms ascribed to instruments? Why are brass instruments so often masculinized? In this presentation, I discuss how the gendering of brass instruments came to be so prominent in the Western classical orchestral sphere and trace a history of feminist brass women in orchestral brass sections who collectively go against the entrenched gendering of brass instruments as masculine. I will also discuss the intricately gendered dynamics of orchestral brass section culture, which force brass players to find ways of navigating gender in the orchestra.
A video of the full presentation will be available soon.