Socio-Cultural Reproduction Experiences of Women College Band Conductors

The purpose of this collective case study was to explore the socio-cultural reproduction experiences of selected women college band conductors. A survey was administered in order to identify key influencers in the college band field. The women who were listed most often were invited to participate in an in-depth interview. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the experiences of women band conductors. Interview questions centered around experiences of mentorship, teaching, and personal life. Specifically, this study asked: (1) What are the socio-cultural reproduction experiences of selected, prominent women college band conductors? (2) How have the selected women conductors perceived cultural and social reproduction and the lack of women in the college band field? (3) Did the five selected women college band conductors become successful by conforming or resisting the masculine culture of college bands? Women are vastly underrepresented in the college band world despite their growing representation at the secondary level. Bourdieu’s Theory of Social and Cultural Reproduction was utilized as a theoretical framework to consider how the masculine cultures of bands have inexplicitly reproduced themselves. Analyzing the data consisted of several waves of inductive coding. Results indicated women college band conductors experience societal, institutional, and individual socio-cultural reproduction experiences. Further results and implications regarding gender issues in music education are discussed within the paper.