Editing Orchestra (section)

====History of gender in ensembles====
Historically, major professional orchestras have been mostly or entirely composed of men. The first [[women in music|women members hired in professional orchestras]] have been [[harp]]ists. The [[Vienna Philharmonic]], for example, did not accept women to permanent membership until 1997, far later than comparable orchestras (the other orchestras ranked among the world's top five by ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' in 2008).<ref name="The world's greatest orchestras">{{cite web|url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/the-world%E2%80%99s-greatest-orchestras |title=The world's greatest orchestras |work=gramophone.co.uk |date= 24 October 2012|access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> The last major orchestra to appoint a woman to a permanent position was the [[Berlin Philharmonic]].<ref>{{cite news |first=James R. |last=Oestreich |author-link=James R. Oestreich |date=16 November 2007 |title=Berlin in lights: The woman question |department=Arts Beat |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/berlin-in-lights-the-woman-question/}}</ref> In February 1996, the Vienna Philharmonic's principal flute, [[Dieter Flury]], told ''[[Westdeutscher Rundfunk]]'' that accepting women would be "gambling with the emotional unity ({{Lang|de|emotionelle Geschlossenheit}}) that this organism currently has".<ref name=WDR5>{{cite AV media |series=Westdeutscher Rundfunk Radio&nbsp;5 |title=Musikalische Misogynie |date=13 February 1996 |medium=radio talk program |url=http://www.osborne-conant.org/wdrgerm.htm |people=transcribed by Regina Himmelbauer; translation by William Osborne |chapter=English translation |chapter-url=http://www.osborne-conant.org/wdr.htm}}</ref> In April 1996, the orchestra's press secretary wrote that "compensating for the expected leaves of absence" of [[maternity leave]] would be a problem.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Vienna Philharmonic's letter of response to the Gen-Mus list |website=Osborne-conant.org |date=25 February 1996 |url=http://www.osborne-conant.org/posts/schuster.htm |access-date=5 October 2013}}</ref>

In 1997, the Vienna Philharmonic was "facing protests during a [US] tour" by the [[National Organization for Women]] and the [[International Alliance for Women in Music]]. Finally, "after being held up to increasing ridicule even in socially conservative Austria, members of the orchestra gathered [on 28&nbsp;February 1997] in an extraordinary meeting on the eve of their departure and agreed to admit a woman, Anna Lelkes, as harpist."<ref name=JP>{{cite news |first=Jane |last=Perlez |date=28 February 1997 |title=Vienna Philharmonic lets women join in harmony |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/28/world/vienna-philharmonic-lets-women-join-in-harmony.html}}</ref> As of 2013, the orchestra has six female members; one of them, violinist Albena Danailova, became one of the orchestra's [[concertmaster]]s in 2008, the first woman to hold that position in that orchestra.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vienna opera appoints first ever female concertmaster <!-- Bot generated title --> |date=8 May 2008 |website=[[France 24]] |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20080508-vienna-opera-albena-danailova-first-female-concertmaster-austria&navi=CULTURE |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028131919/http://www.france24.com/en/20080508-vienna-opera-albena-danailova-first-female-concertmaster-austria%26navi%3DCULTURE |archive-date=28 October 2013 }}</ref> In 2012, women made up 6% of the orchestra's membership. VPO president [[Clemens Hellsberg]] said the VPO now uses completely screened [[blind audition]]s.<ref>{{cite news |first=James R. |last=Oestreich |author-link=James R. Oestreich |date=28 February 1998 |title=Even legends adjust to time and trend – even the Vienna Philharmonic |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/28/arts/even-legends-adjust-to-time-and-trend-even-the-vienna.html}}</ref>

In 2013, an article in ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'' stated that while "[m]any prestigious orchestras have significant female membership — women outnumber men in the [[New York Philharmonic]]'s violin section — and several renowned ensembles, including the [[National Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Detroit Symphony]], and the Minnesota Symphony, are led by women violinists", the double bass, brass, and percussion sections of major orchestras "...&nbsp;are still predominantly male."<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Hannah |last=Levintova |date=September 2013 |title=Here's why you seldom see women leading a symphony |magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/09/women-conductors-gap-charts-marin-alsop-proms |access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> A 2014 BBC article stated that the "...&nbsp;introduction of 'blind' auditions, where a prospective instrumentalist performs behind a screen so that the judging panel can exercise no gender or racial prejudice, has seen the gender balance of traditionally male-dominated symphony orchestras gradually shift."<ref>{{cite web |last=Burton |first=Clemency |date=21 October 2014 |department=Culture |title=Why aren't there more women conductors? |publisher=BBC |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130821-why-so-few-women-conductors |access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref>