“YOU JUST GOTTA BE GREAT”: NARRATIVES OF EXPERIENCE FROM TWO WOMEN CONDUCTING IN THE LUTHERAN COLLEGIATE CHORAL CONTEXT Elisabeth Rogers Cherland A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts University of Washington 2019 Reading Committee: Giselle Wyers, Chair Geoffrey Boers J. Christopher Roberts Program Authorized to Offer Degree: School of Music © Copyright 2019 Elisabeth Rogers Cherland University of Washington ii Abstract “YOU JUST GOTTA BE GREAT”: NARRATIVES OF EXPERIENCE FROM TWO WOMEN CONDUCTING IN THE LUTHERAN COLLEGIATE CHORAL CONTEXT Elisabeth Rogers Cherland Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. Giselle Wyers, Professor of Choral Studies/Voice School of Music Many quantitative studies have shown that there is gender disparity in higher education. In college music programs, for example, women make up just 32% of music faculty (Music Data Summaries 2017-2018, Chart 7), even though nearly half (48%) of graduates from music doctoral programs in the United States are women (Music Data Summaries 2017-2018, Chart 27). Women who are hired average lower salaries and are under-represented in the top academic ranks (Music Data Summaries 2017-2018; Toutkoushian, Bellas & Moore, 2007; Lee & Won, 2014; De Welde, 2017; Armenti, 2004). Gender disparity for women choral conductors has been less explored, particularly for women who conduct or have conducted in the Lutheran collegiate choral context. While quantitative studies can identify problems and show that women do not have equity in academia, qualitative studies can show what inequity looks like and feels like in individual women’s lives. Narrative research, especially, is an important method for exploring the experiences of women who conduct in a variety of contexts. iii The purpose of this narrative study was to understand the stories and experiences of two women choral conductors who conduct or have conducted at Lutheran colleges with strong choral programs. Research questions included: What meanings do they find in their work? What are the challenges they face? How do they see their gender impacting their experiences? The two participants in this study share stories that show they are both excellent conductors and singers who have had highly successful careers. They are both caring and passionate teachers who share a desire to balance the head and the heart in music making. But their stories also show how differently they see their gender affecting their lives and their work. There are differences in the support they experienced in parenting and in how they perform their gender. Their stories of experience and the meanings they attach to them shed light on issues of gender and representation in the choral conducting field in a specific context and in a new way. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...iii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………….vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………..viii CHAPTER 1……………………………………………………………………………………….1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………... 1 Story #1……………………………………………………………………………………1 Interjecting the “I”………………………………………………………………………....3 My Story…………………………………………………………………………………...4 Story #2……………………………………………………………………………………9 Social and Cultural Contexts……………………………………………………………..11 A Note About the Lutheran Context……………………………………………………...12 Statement of Purpose……………………………………………………………………..13 CHAPTER 2……………………………………………………………………………………...15 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………………...15 Equity Laws and Women in Higher Education…………………………………………..17 Pipeline………………………………………………………………………………….. 18 Vertical Segregation, Wage Gap, and Tenure…………………………………………....20 Effects of Household Responsibilities and Family Formation……………………………24 Ideal Worker Norms……………………………………………………………………...26 Representation of Women in Music Education and Choral Conducting…………………27 The North American Lutheran Choral Tradition…………………………………………31 Gender in the Lutheran Context…………………………………………………………..33 Perspectives on Gender…………………………………………………………………..36 CHAPTER 3……………………………………………………………………………………..39 METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………………39 Qualitative Research……………………………………………………………………..39 Narrative Research……………………………………………………………………….41 Participant Selection……………………………………………………………………...43 Confidentiality…………………………………………………………………………... 45 Description of the Participants…………………………………………………………...46 Data Collection, Analysis, and Presentation……………………………………………..47 Creative Nonfiction and Data Presentation………………………………………………50 Criteria for Evaluating Narrative Research………………………………………………52 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………. 54 v CHAPTER 4…………………………………………………………………………………….. 56 INGRID’S STORY………………………………………………………………………………56 Ingrid at Concordia Story………………………………………………………………...60 Old Boys Club Story……………………………………………………………………...68 Polished Shoes Story……………………………………………………………………..78 CHAPTER 5……………………………………………………………………………………...84 SAMANTHA’S STORY………………………………………………………………………... 84 Giving it Away on Looks Story…..……………………………………………………... 94 Saying “No” Story………………………………………………………………………101 Grabbing the Books Story………………………………………………………………109 CHAPTER 6…………………………………………………………………………………….127 THEMES………………………………………………………………………………………..127 Ingrid’s Themes………………………………………………………………………... 127 Theme #1: Others Directed my Life…………………………………………………….127 Theme #2: Gifted in Music……………………………………………………………...128 Theme #3: Collaborative Leadership and Caretaking…………………………………..130 Theme #4: The Head and The Heart…………………………………………………….132 Theme #5: I Chose Not to Look for Discrimination…………………………………….133 Samantha’s Themes…………………………………………………………………..... 135 Theme #1: Double Standards are Still Prevalent………………………………………..136 Theme #2: Misogyny………………………………………………………………........136 Theme #3: There’s No Crying on the Podium…………………………………………..140 Theme #4: You Have to Wear This Mask……………………………………………....140 Theme #5: You Gotta be Better Than Everybody………………………………………142 Subthemes: Really? and Too Big for my Britches…………………………………….. 142 Theme #6: Fire of Competition………………………………………………………….146 Theme #7: The Animus and Anima …………………………………………………….146 CHAPTER 7…………………………………………………………………………………… 149 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN INGRID’S AND SAMANTHA’S STORIES……149 Similarities……………………………………………………………………………...149 Differences……………………………………………………………………………...157 CHAPTER 8……………………………………………………………………………………169 CODA…………………………………………………………………………………………..169 Recommendations for Further Research………………………………………………..171 Closing Thoughts……………………………………………………………………….173 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………175 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE 2.1: Degree Attainment by Gender – 1971, 2011……………………………………….18 TABLE 2.2: 2017-2018 Music Faculty Gender by Rank…………………………………………22 TABLE 2.3: Gender of Choral Teachers (Active MENC members, 2001)……………………...28 TABLE 2.4: Gender of Choral Conductors at Lutheran Colleges in the U.S., 2018-2019……....34 TABLE 2.5: Gender of Named DCA’s at Lutheran Colleges in the U.S., 2018-2019……………34 TABLE 2.6: Gender of Head of Program/DCA at Lutheran Colleges in the U.S., 2018-2019…...35 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It takes a village to write a dissertation. First, my thanks to both “Samantha” and “Ingrid” – wonderful women, teachers, conductors, and now friends. Thank you for your willingness to share your stories and to stand at the heart of my dissertation. You inspire me and I am grateful for your mentorship. Thank you to my committee members Giselle Wyers, Geoffrey Boers, Christopher Roberts, and to Tom Halvorson for being my Graduate School Representative. Your support and feedback were invaluable and I am grateful. Giselle, beyond this dissertation process, thank you for being my first woman mentor. I will never forget the experience of watching you conduct the German Requiem. Thank you for your brilliance and example. Geoffrey, thank you for your artistry and nurturing. To Lindsey, Cindy, Chris, Jen, the Emmaus Table community, Joan Conlon, and the UW choral cohort for your encouragement, support, and humor. To Daniele, for gifting me with the phrase “I can do hard things.” Thank you to my father, Carl Cherland, for instilling a love of choral music and being my first and most influential mentor. Thank you to Meredith Cherland for teaching and inspiring a feminist spirit, and especially in these last few months for being my primary editor and dissertation consultant. Thank you to my children, Elijah and Leif, for their patience and love, and for reminding me when it was time to stop working and start playing. And thank you to Kent, my love and my primary person, for walking with me on this journey. viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “Hence, it is important for us to recognize that personal narratives are never simply ‘personal.’ They are crucial entry points or portals for examining one’s lived experience in relation to historical, social, and cultural contexts.” (Kim, 2016, p. 126) “The personal is political.” (Hanische, 1970, p. 1) Story #1 Early March, 2001. I’m sitting on the tour bus, squinting through the condensation on the windows at the rural Pennsylvania landscape rolling past. I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to read some of Uncle Tom’s Cabin for my Early American Lit class. While reading a paragraph on p. 9 for the third time I see Sadie picking her way down the narrow aisles, handing out sheets of paper and crayons. As she hands me one, I read at the top: Concordia Choir Poll: Who Will It Be? “Fill these out with the names of the most fitting choir members, and then we’ll tally them up and announce the results at dinner tonight,”