Celebrate International Women’s Day with Three Phenomenal Musicians

Marin Alsop has broken every glass ceiling when it comes to conducting—as one of today’s foremost conductors across genders and the first woman conductor of top orchestras across the globe including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop is an icon and inspiration for women in classical music. She was the subject of a 2021 Emmy-nominated feature documentary, The Conductor.

She has just launched the second #PurpleBaton campaign for National Women’s History Month in partnership with the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship to advocate for representation and career advancement for women music directors and conductors.

Learn more about Marin Alsop and the #PurpleBaton campaign here: https://www.marinalsop.com/

Gabriela Ortiz, a six-time Grammy winner between the 2025 and 2026 Grammy Awards for her albums Revolución diamantina and Yanga and her cello concerto Dzonot, is a Mexican composer that needs no introduction. The daughter of Latin American Folk musicians, Gabriela Ortiz’s music is often inspired by Mexican culture and landscapes.

Dzonot confronts climate change and development that are threatening the cenotes, underground caves that contain crystalline water and unique ecosystems in the Yucatán Peninsula in southern Mexico. ‘Dzonot’, the Mayan word for cenotes, were sacred sites in Mayan culture. The cello concerto, Ortiz says, was especially written for Alisa Weilerstein.

Learn more about Gabriela Ortiz here: https://gabrielaortiz.com/

Alisa Weilerstein is an American cellist phenomenon known for her artistry and for expanding the cello literature. Named a MacArthur Fellow in 2011, her interpretations of the core repertoire as well as new works, including Gabriela Ortiz’s Dzonot, have been met with glowing critical reception.

Her solo cello project FRAGMENTS, first conceptualised during 2020’s pandemic lockdowns, weaves together Bach’s solo cello suites with 27 new commissions to create a six-part multisensory concert series, which has also received high critical acclaim.

Learn more about Alisa Weilerstein here: https://alisaweilerstein.com/