Celebrating Women in Music
As a woman working in the music field, I wanted to share some reflections on “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” (available to watch on Netflix). This musical short documentary won Best Documentary (Short Subject) this year in 2025. I rarely watch movies or TV series, but this one was definitely worth the sit down to take in for 35 minutes—especially during Women’s History Month. I actually wished it was longer!
I didn’t even know who Orin O'Brien was and I felt like I got a mini-history lesson in the process. Born in 1935, Orin is a double bassist and was the first woman to join the New York Philharmonic in 1966 under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. It’s crazy to me to think that 1966 was not that long ago! I think there is a lot I take for granted being a woman today. I played in orchestras growing up and never thought once that I would be inhibited playing professionally because of my gender—as it should be to not have inhibitions in this way.
However, it got me thinking how I wish I had more female representation when it came to the composers I studied when learning about Western classical music. It makes me wonder if I would have tried to write music sooner had I knew female composers existed, or even if I had more female singer-songwriters to look up to. Sara Bareilles was an huge inspiration for me in that realm.
I’m not sure why I didn’t discover the concept of writing music until college, when it was such a big part of my life already growing up. I did notice a large gender gap in my collegiate studies with the music composition program at my school being very male dominate. I also had a large interested in learning jazz (as an instrumentalist mostly, but loved the idea of singing in a vocal jazz group too) and noticed that all the females in the program were singers and otherwise there was maybe one female horn player in the whole jazz program. I still took the jazz arranging classes and joined a jazz combo to immerse myself, but at the time it really did feel like a secret language that only guys know about!
Speaking of my alma mater, I recently discovered that jazz violinist Nora Germain, whom I’ve taken a couple lessons with years ago, actually did a masterclass for the conservatory strings department recently. The whole thing is posted here, so I was thrilled to be able to watch and admire this incredible female jazz violinist. I’ve just purchased her book, Go For It, and I am so excited to dive in.
Women’s History Month may be coming to a close, but I feel committed and inspired to keep walking the path that has been so freshly paved and maybe even inspire other young female artists in the process. To circle back on “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” it was heartbreaking to hear how Orin did not identify herself as an artist nor did she ever think she was “good enough.” Although I can heavily relate to those sentiments, it is something I have aspired to change in recent years. I do believe that creativity and play is not as encouraged as it should be, and I hope to always cultivate space for that in myself and others.