[ti:France Launches Effort to Right Classical Music's Gender Imbalance] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Very few women occupy leadership positions [00:06.04]in the world of classical music. [00:09.64]In fact, only about six percent [00:14.28]of professional classical music orchestras are headed by women. [00:22.52]Now, in France, there is an effort [00:25.96]to increase the number of women leading orchestras. [00:30.64]It is an international competition in Paris called La Maestra. [00:38.20]The event gives women conductors a chance to show off their skills. [00:45.16]Over 200 women -- from Asia, Europe and the Americas [00:51.36]-- are taking part in the competition. [00:55.52]The winner will be announced later this month. [01:00.52]Laurent Bayle is director of the Paris Philharmonic. [01:07.00]He says the winner and those who place highly [01:11.44]will get two years of intensive mentoring and other support. [01:17.84]Many observers say there is a need for that kind of support. [01:24.20]Women head nearly 40 percent of orchestras in Belgium, [01:30.20]but only three percent of French orchestras have female conductors. [01:37.72]In the United States, only eight percent [01:41.40]of orchestra conductors are women. [01:45.88]The Paris Philharmonic, known in French [01:49.56]as the Philharmonie de Paris, is doing better. [01:55.08]About 30 percent of its visiting conductors this season [02:00.40]are women, an increase from a few years ago. [02:06.72]A mix of reasons, from historical to cultural, [02:11.12]are said to be responsible for women's lack of advancement [02:16.56]in the classical music field. [02:19.64]Bayle noted that in France, for example, [02:24.24]the country's egalitarian system disapproves of actions [02:29.84]designed mainly to help women and minority groups. [02:34.64]Claire Gilbault is one of France's few female conductors. [02:41.76]She heads the Paris Mozart Orchestra, [02:45.36]which helped to organize the competition. [02:50.24]She told VOA that men head all major musical organizations [02:56.48]and like to share power among themselves. [03:00.68]La Maestra changes that. [03:03.88]Its jury has an equal number of men and women [03:08.72]and is led by a female conductor. [03:12.32]But for this all-women competition, [03:16.36]performance is the most important criteria. [03:20.80]Twenty-nine-year-old Sara Caneva [03:24.88]from Italy was the first candidate to perform. [03:29.40]She noted that the coronavirus pandemic [03:33.56]has made the competition more difficult. [03:37.92]"It's the first, it's after a long time without conducting [03:42.84]because of the lockdown, she said. [03:46.96]Holly Hyun Choe from the United States [03:50.88]felt better about her performance. [03:54.12]She currently works as a conductor in Switzerland. [03:58.68]"Of course, that has to come with a lot of luck [04:03.40]and a lot of hard work, and your own talent." [04:08.36]The Philharmonic's Bayle said the goal of the event [04:12.96]is to get other European orchestras [04:16.04]to invite these conductors to perform. [04:20.80]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM