Not enough women? Let’s include over-40s…

The Paris-based La Maestra competition, a women’s only conducting contest, was always a discriminatroy proposition.

Its first attempt in September 2022 yielded a broad range of international talent, mostly veterans of other contests.

This time, for a contest starting March 3, the contest has selected 14 candidates from 202 applicants.

They are:

Yeo Ryeong Ahn, 29 – South Korea

Clara Baget, 23 – France

Mélisse Brunet, 45 – France (pictured)

Mercedes Diaz Garcia, 42 – Spain

Ustina Dubitsky, 33 – Germany

Tamara Dworetz, 32 – USA

Beatriz Fernández Aucejo, 38 – Spain

Vivian Ip, 35 – Hong Kong

Nikol Kraft, 33 – Czech Republic

Maria Kurochkina, 32 – Russia

Natalia Raspopova, 39 – Australia

Joanna Natalia Slusarczyk, 36 – Poland

Anna Sulkowska-Migon, 26 – Poland

Zoe Zeniodi, 45 – Greece