Conductor and PhD Fellow

– Describe the most important aspects of your job today?

– As an orchestral conductor, my most important tasks are leading rehearsals and concerts, studying scores, travelling, and everything else that comes with being a conductor. It is a very practical and physical job, but above all, I would say it is about leadership and collaboration with many different people.

As a PhD Fellow, my work is quite different, although there are also similarities. My main tasks are conducting research, asking critical questions, reading and analysing texts, discussing ideas with other researchers, and writing. Both conducting and research involve questioning, analysing, interpreting, and developing ideas.

The biggest difference is the timescale. In research, I work independently and may spend years exploring a question from different perspectives. In conducting, I often have to make practical decisions within a much shorter timeframe, working towards a specific goal such as a concert at the end of the week. So, while both roles require critical thinking, they involve very different ways of working.

– What do you like best about your job?

– I really love the variety. Being a conductor is a very physical job, as I mentioned, while research requires something completely different. Moving between these two worlds is something I really enjoy, and it feels like I get to engage my whole self.

Most of all, though, I truly love both of my fields. I am deeply passionate about music and research. I remember that after submitting my master’s thesis, I immediately felt that I wanted to continue researching the same topic. I think that was a clear sign of how passionate I had become about it.

On a more practical level, I also really value the freedom that comes with research. There is a lot that I have to structure and organise myself, and although that can sometimes be challenging, I really enjoy it. I like being able to focus deeply on one topic for a period of time and then shift my attention to something else. Having that flexibility to organise my work and my time suits me very well.

– How is the education from The Faculty of Humanities relevant in this job?

– First of all, I have to say that my Master’s degree in Gender Studies changed my life. As a conductor, I had experienced things in my field that I found difficult to understand or put into words, and I felt I needed a more critical language to explore questions of gender, power, and leadership.

I became particularly interested in conducting education, as there was very little research examining the field from a gender perspective. For my master’s thesis, I interviewed professional women conductors about their experiences as students in orchestral conducting programmes. This led me to explore the relationship between gender, authority, the body, and musical leadership.

My Master’s degree gave me theoretical tools to understand experiences I had previously struggled to make sense of, and fundamentally changed how I approach music and conducting. My thesis eventually became the foundation for my current PhD project, where I explore how feminist, democratic, and decolonial perspectives can help us rethink conducting education.

– What’s your best tip for new students who are concerned about their job opportunities after graduation?

– I think combining Gender Studies with another subject or professional field can be incredibly valuable. It allows you to develop expertise in gender within a specific area while opening up new career opportunities.

So my advice is not to be afraid of combining different interests. Some of the most interesting opportunities emerge between fields.

Hannah's LinkedIn profile
More about my PhD: Hannah Howard Andresen: Power and Gender in Conducting Education at Music Conservatories (nmh.no/en/research/projects/hannah-andresen-phdprosjekt)

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