Page 666 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

But we are, in fact, talking about the England women’s Euro 2022 win and the victory
lap that defined it; the jubilant image of goal-scorer Chloe Kelly whipping off her
sweaty shirt and helicoptering it over her head, revealing her sports bra underneath to
millions watching at home.

In a world where gender inequality defies job sectors, the difference between a
football and a conducting baton isn’t so big. Role models matter.

When Farnham co-founded WoCo (Women Conductors) – a programme to encourage
women into the profession – she did so in response to a clumsy remark. In 2013,
shortly before the American conductor Marin Alsop was due to take to the podium at
the Royal Albert Hall – and become the first woman ever to conduct BBC’s Last Night
of the Proms – Vasily Petrenko, then principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic, said: “A cute girl on a podium means musicians think about other
things.” In that moment something shifted for Farnham – who had trained at the St

Petersburg Conservatoire and had already carved out a successful career for herself at
world-leading venues.

“Originally I thought women just didn’t want to do it and I was unusual,” she says.

“Then I thought, ‘This is terrible. Why aren’t there any women and what’s got to be
changed?’”

Much has changed. In 2020, Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra principal guest
conductor, conducted the Proms’ Last Night, following in the footsteps of her
predecessor, Alsop. She was due to return to the role last week, before news of the
Queen’s death prompted the evening’s cancellation. “There are way more women
coming through now, younger and older,” Farnham tells me.