The next orchestra I wanted to write about is Montreal Women’s Symphony Orchestra (MWSO), founded in 1940. To this day it remains Canada’s only all-women symphony orchestra and was regarded as one of five major orchestras in the country.
One of the biggest reasons for its success was the competence and popularity of its conductor, Ethel Stark. As a violinist Stark was the first woman to perform as a soloist with a major orchestra in Canada, and became the first woman conductor to be accepted to the Curtis Institute. She also became the first woman to guest conduct Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Quebec Symphony, CBC Chamber and Symphony Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Kol-Israel Symphony Orchestra of Jerusalem, Nippon Hoso Kyokai Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Asahi Philharmonic. Getting conducting training was difficult for female conductors and MWSO was unable to offer scholarships, so Stark created two from her own funds. Through all her work she earned the title of “Canada’s first lady of the orchestra” and was appointed Member of the Order of Canada.
MWSO only took 10 days to assemble 50 women to form the orchestra, yet it still faced various challenges. One of the biggest was finding women who could play something other than string instruments. However, they discovered many women preferred wind instruments to strings and just needed the opportunity to exercise their talents. Despite this, the string section remained a higher standard than the other sections.
Another challenge they experienced was the views of critics, who believed an orchestra comprised of, conducted and administered entirely by women would head into speedy demise. Other critics claimed the orchestra wouldn’t be able to function properly without male authority and that groups of women wouldn’t show obedience to another woman. Despite receiving mostly excellent reviews after their first concert, one reporter complained that the audience were loudly jostling to see the ‘novelty’, possibly due to the amusement of seeing women playing ‘male’ instruments or because of the male gaze. Other criticisms mentioned the femininity, lack of experience and inability to compete with men. However, after becoming the first Canadian symphony orchestra to perform in New York’s Carnegie Hall, they received less critics and the novelty wore off.
Members of MWSO also faced more personal challenges through long hours spent away from families and low pay. Many worked other jobs to boost their salary and 90% of women in the orchestra had their own families, making it difficult to manage time to look after them as well as attend MWSO. This was combatted by the comradery of the orchestra, such as stepping in to help with childcare.
Perhaps the biggest challenge MWSO faced was finance related. Though there are no financial records available, economic reasons are considered to be why MWSO disbanded in 1965. They faced difficulties purchasing instruments, venue hire and publicity, and when co-founder, Bowen, passed away in 1950, her financial contributions were sorely missed. Some organisations and people with political influence did donate for their New York tour, but finding regular private patronage and corporate sponsorship was difficult, especially after the war. It seems MWSO failed to secure any regular corporate funding and as such relied on ticket sales and donations.
MWSO did apply for funding from the new Canada Council for the Arts on numerous occasions but were always rejected due to being in “the wrong geographic location”, perhaps because Montreal already had a professional (male) orchestra. The threat the women’s orchestra posed to the traditional male-dominated music establishment may also have been a factor in the government’s decision to refuse funding for MWSO. For example, if MWSO received more funds, there would likely be a reduction in funds to male orchestras and women instrumentalists would be supported in gaining the experience to later compete with men for positions. The general consensus was that men were the breadwinners so women shouldn’t have been entering competition with them, creating a paradox where women’s orchestras had to be good enough to survive financially but not so good they threatened men.
After further financial difficulties and inability to find instrumentalists, the orchestra was struggling to continue. Additionally, when they gathered one last time in 1965, they appeared a dated institution in the wake of second wave feminism, which fought for complete gender integration. As such, they disbanded in 1965, knowing they had acted as an important vehicle in the emergence of women musicians, changing the public’s perception of women instrumentalists and laying the foundation for other women to succeed. As Ethel Stark claimed, MWSO was “a strong current in the rising tide that would sweep away the barriers to woman musicians, women in governments, industry and higher education”.
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References:
Noriega, Maria L. (2010). The Montreal Women’s Symphony Orchestra and the Emergence of Women as Orchestral Musicians in Canada (1940-1965). M.A. Thesis, University of Calgary.
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