# List of female classical conductors

The following is a partial and sortable list of female classical conductors. Classical conductors work with orchestras, opera companies, ballet companies and choral groups. This list exists in the historical context of a lack of female classical conductors in the music profession.
| Name | Image | Country | Orchestras | Born | Died | Notes |
| Marin Alsop | | United States | Colorado Symphony Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP) Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra | 1956 | | First female conductor of the Colorado Symphony, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and of OSESP. First female conductor of the Last Night of the Proms in 2013 |
| Dalia Atlas | | Israel | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Berliner Symphoniker | 1933 | | Dalia Atlas has conducted 82 orchestras in concerts, festivals and recordings, radio and television in 29 countries. |
| Elfrida Andrée | | Sweden | | 1841 | 1929 | In 1897 she was named leader of the Gothenburg Workers Institute Concerts, establishing her reputation as the first Swedish woman to conduct a symphony orchestra |
| Sabine Aubert | | France | Odyssey Symphony Orchestra | 1968 | | |
| Jessica Bejarano | | United States | San Francisco Philharmonic Peninsula Symphony | 1981 (approx) | | Founder and music director of the San Francisco Philharmonic. |
| Frieda Belinfante | | Netherlands | Orange County Philharmonic | 1904 | 1995 | |
| Maria Badstue | | Denmark | Gothenburg Symphony, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra | 1982 | | |
| Gisele Ben-Dor | | Israel | Houston Symphony Louisville Orchestra Israel Philharmonic | 1955 | | |
| Linda Bouchard | | Canada | | 1957 | | |
| Nadia Boulanger | | France | London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony, New York Philharmonic | 1887 | 1979 | First woman to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra. |
| Kalena Bovell | | United States | Memphis Symphony Orchestra | | | Only African-American and Latinamerican conductor in the United States as of 2019. |
| Antonia Louisa Brico | | Netherlands | New York Philharmonic, Denver Community Symphony | 1902 | 1989 | First woman to conduct the New York Philharmonic. |
| Sarah Caldwell | | United States | Boston University Opera Workshop Opera Company of Boston | 1924 | 2006 | First woman to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera (1976) |
| Karina Canellakis | | United States | Radio Filharmonisch Orkest | 1981 | | First female chief conductor of the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, and the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of any Dutch orchestra. |
| Lisette Canton | | Canada | the Ottawa Bach Choir | | | Canadian choral conductor. Conductor of the first Canadian choir to be invited to sing at the Thomaskirche. Juno award nominated in 2020. |
| Joana Carneiro | | Portugal | Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa | 1976 | | |
| Elim Chan | | Hong Kong | NorrlandsOperan Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) Antwerp Symphony Orchestra | 1986 | | First female principal guest conductor of the RSNO * First woman conductor and youngest-ever conductor named chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony |
| Han-na Chang | | South Korea | Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra | 1982 | | First female music director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. First female chief conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra |
| Mei-Ann Chen | | United States | Chicago Sinfonietta, Memphis Symphony Orchestra | 1973 | | First female music director each of the Chicago Sinfonietta and of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra |
| Debra Cheverino | | Italy | Maggio Musicale Fiorentino | 1976 | | First female conductor and the second conductor to receive a Fulbright congressional grant. |
| Stephanie Childress | | France/United Kingdom | St Louis Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Berlin Konzerthaus | 1999 | | Principal Guest Conductor of Barcelona Symphony Orchestra Glyndebourne Opera |
| Lina Coen | | United States | Cosmopolitan Opera Company; Jewish American Opera Company | 1878 | 1952 | First female in New York to conduct an opera. First female in United States to conduct a grand opera. |
| Avril Coleridge-Taylor | | United Kingdom | Royal Albert Hall, Royal Marines, Coleridge-Taylor Symphony Orchestra | 1903 | 1998 | First female conductor of the H.M.S Royal Marines. Guest conductor, BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra |
| Catherine Comet | | France | Grand Rapids Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra | 1944 | | |
| Jessica Cottis | | Australia | Glasgow New Music Expedition | 1979 | First female chief conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra | |
| Valéria Csányi | | Hungary | Hungarian Opera, since 1983 | 1958 | | |
| Alondra de la Parra | | Mexico | Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas Queensland Symphony Orchestra | 1980 | | First female conductor at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. |
| Ausma Derkēvica | | Latvia | | 1929 | 2011 | |
| Michelle Di Russo | | Argentina | North Carolina Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony Orechestra | | | |
| Suzi Digby | | United Kingdom | ORA Singers | 1958 | | |
| Agnieszka Duczmal | | Poland | Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra Amadeus in Poznan | 1946 | |
| Veronika Dudarova | | Russia | Junior conductor of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra Principal conductor of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra Symphony Orchestra of Russia | 1916 | 2009 | First 20th century female symphony orchestra conductor |
| Sian Edwards | | United Kingdom | English National Opera, Ensemble Modern | 1959 | | First female music director of English National Opera |
| Laurence Equilbey | | France | Accentus | 1962 | | |
| JoAnn Falletta | | United States | Virginia Symphony Orchestra Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Ulster Orchestra | 1954 | | First female music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. First female chief conductor of the Ulster Orchestra |
| Nicolette Fraillon | | Australia | The Australian Ballet | 1960 | | The world's only woman music director of a ballet company. |
| Michi Gaigg | | Austria | L'arpa festante, L'Orfeo | 1957 | | |
| Marta Gardolińska | | Poland | Opéra national de Lorraine | 1988 | | First female music director of the Opéra national de Lorraine. |
| Hortense von Gelmini [de] | | Germany | Nürnberger Symphoniker Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Hofer Symphoniker | 1947 | | First female conductor of these and other German Symphony Orchestras between 1975 and 1980. Conductor of the Orchestra of Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in 1965, Founder and conductor of Orchestra Gelmini since 1969. "The gathering critical judgement of Hortense von Gelmini, Germany's only woman conductor, is that she has not only the talent but the education, energy, and persistence to make her mark in this difficult and competitive profession." |
| Ruth Gipps | | United Kingdom | London Repertoire Orchestra, Chanticleer Orchestra | 1921 | 1999 | Founded the London Repertoire Orchestra and the Chanticleer Orchestra, served as conductor and music director for the City of Birmingham Choir. |
| Jane Glover | | United Kingdom | London Mozart Players, Music of the Baroque, Chicago | 1949 | | First female music director of the London Mozart Players and of Music of the Baroque, Chicago. Third woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera. |
| Chiquinha Gonzaga | | Brazil | | 1847 | 1935 | First female conductor in Brazil. |
| Karen Gorden | | United States | Special Jury Prize, 50th Geneva International Conducting Competition | 1967 | | Founded FORCULTURE in 2014 |
| Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla | | Lithuania | Salzburger Landestheater City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) | 1986 | | First female music director of the CBSO |
| María Guinand | | Venezuela | | 1953 | | |
| Emmanuelle Haïm | | France | Le Concert d'Astrée | 1962 | | First woman to conduct at Lyric Opera of Chicago |
| Barbara Hannigan | | Canada | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Ludwig Orchestra | 1971 | | First female principal guest conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra |
| Cécile Hartog | | United Kingdom | Theatre orchestras | 1857 | 1940 | Conducted (for example) the play Beethoven's Romance at the Royalty Theatre, London in 1894. |
| Sarah Hicks | | United States | Minnesota Orchestra | 1972 | | |
| Margaret Hillis | | United States | Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago Symphony Orchestra | 1921 | 1998 | Founder and director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. |
| Imogen Holst | | United Kingdom | | 1907 | 1984 | |
| Apo Hsu | | Taiwan / United States | | 1956 | | |
| Laura Jackson | | United States | Reno Philharmonic Orchestra | | | |
| Huan Jing | | China | | 1982 (approx) | | |
| Sarah Ioannides | | Australia | El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra | 1972 | | |
| Sofi Jeannin | | France | Choeur de Radio France BBC Singers, Ars Nova Copenhagen | 1976 | | First female chief conductor of the Choeur de Radio France, the BBC Singers, and of Ars Nova Copenhagen |
| Julia Jones | | United Kingdom | Oper Köln, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal | 1961 | | |
| Karen Kamensek | | United States | Slovenian National Theatre Staatsoper Hannover | 1970 | | |
| Thea Kano | | United States | New York City Master Chorale | 1965 | | |
| Vítězslava Kaprálová | | Czech Republic | Czech Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra | 1915 | 1940 | |
| Sally Kell | | United States | Berkeley Youth Orchestra, Berkeley, California Holy Names-Mills College Orchestra, Oakland, California Prometheus Symphony Orchestra, Oakland, California | 1936 | 1980 | Founded the Berkeley Youth Orchestra in 1969 |
| Eun Sun Kim | | South Korea | Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera | 1980 | | First female conductor to be named principal guest conductor of the Houston Grand Opera. First female music director of San Francisco Opera |
| Gwynne Kimpton | | United Kingdom | Bromley Symphony Orchestra British Women's Symphony Orchestra | 1873 | 1930 | Founded the British Women's Symphony Orchestra in 1923 |
| Carolyn Kuan | | United States | Hartford Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | | First female music director of the Hartford Symphony |
| Elisabeth Kuyper | | Netherlands | Berliner Tonküstlerinnen Orchester and other female orchestras in the Hague, London and New York | 1877 | 1953 | |
| Ethel Leginska | | United Kingdom, United States | Major orchestras in Munich, Paris, London, Berlin (1924), New York, Hollywood Bowl (1925). Boston Phil., Boston Woman's SO, the Woman's Symphony Orchestra, Chicago. | 1886 | 1970 | After retiring as a pianist, studied conducting with Eugene Goossens and Robert Heger in 1923. She conducted at leading European opera houses in the early 1930s, and her own opera, Gale, at Chicago City Opera (1935). |
| Iris Lemare | | United Kingdom | | 1902 | 1997 | First woman to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She started the Macnaghten-Lemare series of concerts which introduced the public to new works by British composers. She is considered the first British woman to have worked professionally as a conductor |
| Tania León | | Cuba/United States | | 1943 | | |
| Oksana Lyniv | | Ukraine | Graz Opera, Bavarian State Opera | 1978 | | First-ever Generalmusikdirektorin (female general music director) of the Graz Opera and Graz Philharmonic Orchestra. First female chief conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. First female conductor ever to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival |
| Marsha Mabrey | | United States | Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra | 1949 | | First African American woman conductor of Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra Symposia and festival director of Detroit Symphony's African American Composer's Forum and Symposium Created West Coast Women's Conductor/Composer Symposium and American Women Conductor/Composer Symposium at the University of Oregon |
| Susanna Mälkki | | Finland | Ensemble Intercontemporain Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic | 1969 | | First female music director of the EIC * First female chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic * First-ever female conductor in the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series |
| Joana Mallwitz | | Germany | Theater Erfurt Staatstheater Nürnberg | 1986 | | First-ever Generalmusikdirektorin (female general music director) of the Theater Erfurt and of the Staatstheater Nürnberg. First-ever female chief conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and first-ever female chief conductor of any Berlin orchestra |
| Anne Manson | | United States | Kansas City Symphony, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra | 1986 | | First-ever female music director of the Kansas City Symphony and of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra |
| Florence Ashton Marshall | | United Kingdom | Philharmonic Society South Hampstead Orchestra | 1843 | 1922 | Conducted at the Hampstead Conservatoire, as well as (until 1920) the South Hampstead Orchestra, which attracted soloists including Fritz Kreisler, Isolde Menges and Mischa Elman. |
| Ariane Matiakh | | France | Opera and Staatskapelle Halle | 1980 | | First-ever Generalmusikdirektorin (female general music director) of the Opera and Staatskapelle Halle |
| Simone Menezes | | Brazil, Italy | Camerata Latino Americana | 1977 | | Conductor of Unicamp Symphony Orchestra (São Paulo), founder of Camerata Latino Americana and Villa-Lobos Project |
| Kathleen Merritt | | United Kingdom | Petersfield Orchestra Kathleen Merritt Orchestra Southern String Orchestra | 1901 | 1985 | Founded local orchestras around Petersfield in Hampshire, then founded the professional Kathleen Merritt Orchestra in 1939 |
| Ewa Michnik | | Poland | Zielona Góra Filharmonia Krakow Opera Wroclaw Opera | 1943 | | First female director of Krakow Opera; First female director of Wroclaw Opeta |
| Gemma New | | New Zealand | Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra | 1986 | | First female music director of the Hamilton PO |
| Tomomi Nishimoto | | Japan | Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Kyoto Symphony Orchestra | 1970 | | |
| Jasmina Novokmet [sr] | | Serbia | | 1969 | | |
| Eva Ollikainen | | Finland | Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra | 1982 | | First female conductor to be named chief conductor of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, and of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra |
| Helen Quach | | Vietnam, Australia, Philippines | | 1940 | 2013 | |
| Andrea Quinn | | Great Britain | The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet | 1964 | | First female music director of The Royal Ballet and the New York City Ballet |
| Gal Rasché | | Austria | Viennarmonica, Metropolitan Kammerorchester Wien | 1960 | | |
| Kathleen Riddick | | United Kingdom | | 1907 | 1973 | Founder, Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932, London Women's String Orchestra (later the Riddick Orchestra) in 1938 |
| Kay George Roberts | | United States | New England Orchestra | 1950 | | |
| Dana Sadava | | United States | San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Pasadena Opera (Artistic Director), Mill Valley Philharmonic (Artistic Director). | 1982 (approximate) | | Full-time faculty at SF Conservatory of Music, Associate Conductor of Opera. Earned an undergraduate degree in aeronautics and literature from Caltech prior to becoming a conductor. |
| Lucy Scarbrough | | United States | El Paso Civic Orchestra | 1927 | 2020 | |
| Inma Shara | | Spain | | 1972 | | First female conductor who took the podium at the Vatican in 2008. |
| Anna Skryleva [de] | | Germany | Theater Magdeburg | 1975 | | First female general music director (GMD) of Theater Magdeburg, and first Russian female conductor as general music director in Europe. |
| Jeanette Sorrell | | United States | Apollo's Fire | 1965 | | |
| Ethel Stark | Ethel Stark giving instructions to violinists, 1942 | Canada | Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra | 1910 | 2012 | Virtuoso violinist; first Canadian accepted at Curtis Institute of Music; founded and led the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra 1940-1965. |
| Nathalie Stutzmann | | France | Orfeo 55, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra | 1965 | | First female to conduct an opera at the head of Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. First female music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra |
| Anna Sułkowska-Migoń | | Poland | | 1995 | | Winner of Maestra Competition in Paris 2022 |
| Anu Tali | | Estonia | Nordic Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra | 1972 | | Co-founder of the Nordic Symphony Orchestra. First female music director of the Sarasota Orchestra. |
| Katalin Váradi [hu] | | Hungary | Budapest Opera 1973–1980, Budapest Operetta 1980–2004, Miskolc National Theatre 1984–2012 | 1948 | 2015 | |
| Nan Washburn | | United States | Michigan Philharmonic | | | Winner of the American Prize in Conducting 2013 |
| Rosabel Watson | | United Kingdom | Aeolian Ladies' Orchestra | 1865 | 1959 | Founder of the first all-female orchestra in the UK in 1886 |
| Antonia Joy Wilson | | United States | Artistic director: Global Arts Center & Multimedia Symphony in XR Visual Worlds (in development) / Artistic director: Midland Center for the Arts: Midland Symphony Orchestra / resident principal guest conductor: Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Sofia for two years / music director: Le Festivale: Orchestra & Chorus of Colorado | 1958 (approx) | | The youngest woman to conduct a major American orchestra, she made her professional debut with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at the age of 21. She was noted in a Los Angeles Times article on women cracking the "glass podium" of conducting by being appointed to positions in major American orchestras. |
| Keri-Lynn Wilson | | Canada | Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, Kyiv Camerata | 1967 | | First female chief conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic and of Kyiv Camerata |
| Diane Wittry | | United States | Symphony of Southeast Texas Norwalk Symphony Orchestra Allentown Symphony Orchestra | 1964 | | The 1st female music director of an orchestra in the State of Texas, and the first female conductor at the Ojai Music Festival, California |
| Rachael Worby | | United States | Symphony Orchestra in Wheeling, Pasadena POPS | 1950 | | |
| Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer [de] | | Switzerland | Swiss Orchestra | 1983 | | Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer is a Swiss conductor and musicologist. She is the principal conductor of the Swiss Orchestra. |
| Lidiya Yankovskaya | | United States | Chicago Opera Theater, Refugee Orchestra Project, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Lowell House Opera, Commonwealth Lyric Theater | 1986 | | Russian-American opera and symphonic conductor and the music director of Chicago Opera Theater As of her appointment at COT, Yankovskaya is the only female music director of a major American opera company. |
| Simone Young | | Australia | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Opera Australia Philharmoniker Hamburg, Sydney Symphony Orchestra | 1961 | | First female conductor of the Vienna State Opera in 1993. Second woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera. First female chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
| Xian Zhang | | China | Sioux City Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi New Jersey Symphony Orchestra BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Seattle Symphony Orchestra | 1973 | | * First female music director of the Sioux City Symphony, of La Verdi, and of the NJSO. * First titled female conductor with any BBC orchestra. * First female conductor ever to conduct the annual Beethoven 9 Prom at The Proms. First female music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra |
| Xiaoying Zheng | | China | China National Opera House, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ai Yue Nu Philharmonic Orchestra | 1929 | | First female conductor in China. |