Marin Alsop
Personal Information
Born: 1956
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Julliard School Pre-College Division 1972; originally attended Yale University as a Mathematics major but transferred to Juilliard in 1975 where she earned a BM 1977 & a MM 1978 both in the Violin
Professional Life
Field of Study: Music
Institution/Corporation: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO); NY String Ensemble
Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degree: Juilliard School (2021) Bournemouth University (2007) Yale University (2017); Member: Fellow American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2008) American Philosophical Society (2020) Royal Philharmonic Society (2014)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1989 Koussevitzky Prize for Conducting; 2005 MacArthur Fellowship; 2003 Gramophone magazine Artist of the Year; 2003 Royal Philharmonic Society's Conductor Award; 2019 World Economic Forum Crystal Award; 1988 Stokowski Conducting Prize; 2005 Classical British Record Industry Trust (BRIT) Female Artist of the Year Award; 2007 European Women of Achievement Award
Achievements: In 2007 Alsop became the first woman conductor to be made the music director of a major American orchestra. She led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 14 years, 11 years longer than the length of her original contract; 1st female recipient of the Kossevitzky Prize & 1st conductor awarded a MacArthur Fellowship; chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra & the Ravinia Festival; 2023 named artistic director & conductor of the Polish National Radio symphony Orchestra; 2015 1st female to conduct Last Night of the Proms
Began playiong the piano at age 2 & the violin at 5
Both her parents were string musicians
2007 was 1 of 8 conductors of British orchestras to endorse the 10-year classical manifesto "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st Century" which called for the increased presence of classical music in the UK & giving all British schoolchildren free admission to a classical music concert; has been nominated for 4 Grammys & 1 Emmy
her discography comprises over 200 titles
The Conductor is a documentary of her life which premiered at the 2021 NY Tribeca Film Festival
She was inspired to become a conductor by Leonard Bernstein; won a Bernstein Fellowship & ultimately was his student