Conference Agenda

The figure of the soloist occupies a privileged position within Western art music, connoting virtuosity, authority, and public visibility. Although feminist musicology has documented gendered exclusions in compositional canons, conducting, and orchestral programming, far less attention has been given to how emerging women instrumentalists themselves understand the viability of solo careers—particularly within Latin American conservatory contexts, where scholarship on gender and instrumental leadership remains limited.

Focusing on graduates of the Universidad Nacional de Música in Lima, this paper investigates how women wind players conceptualize the possibility of becoming soloists in the contemporary Peruvian musical field. Drawing on phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews with recent graduates from both woodwind and brass specializations, the study examines three fundamental dimensions: first, perception and projection of the solo career, where this identity triggers intense self-imposed pressures and expectations that lead participants to discard this path. Second, gender perspectives, revealing persistent biases and differentiated evaluations above technical competence; here, female role models inspire holistic trajectories (work and family) but do not drive solo aspirations. Third, trajectory configuration and professional sustainability.

Results indicate that before graduation, clear aspirations lean toward teaching or orchestral performance. Faced with a music market offering insufficient formal opportunities and the implicit pressure to perform, teaching emerges as the safest, most profitable alternative. Consequently, the solo career is relegated due to structural instability, restricting professional options despite university training. By foregrounding musicians’ professional realities, this paper offers a Latin American intervention into musicological discussions of gender, performance, and the politics of visibility.