Who is Eímear Noone? History-Making Female Conductor Will Lead Orchestra at the Oscars
On Sunday, February 9, Eímear Noone is poised to make history at the 2020 Oscars. No, Noone isn’t nominated for an award — she isn’t even an actress. Noone, an Irish composer and conductor, will hit the stage as the first ever female conductor to lead the 42-piece orchestra during the film industry’s biggest night.
Rickey Minor, the Oscars' Music Director, invited Noone to conduct the orchestra at the 92nd Academy Awards, making her the first woman with that honor. However, it isn’t her first time breaking barriers in her field. Noone has established a career that includes 26 film and video game titles, including popular games like Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and The Legend of Zelda. Not only has she conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, the Sydney Symphony, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and several other national orchestras, but she was also the first woman to conduct at Dublin's National Concert Hall.
Noone’s resume precedes her as she prepares for the show, which she is undoubtedly qualified to lead. But why is Noone the first female conductor to be given this honor? It is 2020, after all.
Inequality in the classical music world is hardly new — in 2013, only one of the world’s top 100 conductors was a female. Since then, the numbers have grown slightly, with ClassicFM reporting that number having grown to eight in 2019, which equates to just 8%. While that statistic is still far too low, recent progress has been encouraging.
Noone isn’t the only female composer making an impact on the world of film and television shows. Hildur Gudnadóttir composed Warner Bros.’ 2019 hit Joker, which grossed more than $1.071 billion in the box office. Gudnadóttir nabbed the Golden Globe for her work on Joker, making her the first solo female composer to win the award. Now, she’s nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Gudnadóttir told The Hollywood Reporter that she hopes her Golden Globes win inspires young women: “It was a milestone for sure in film music, in that a solo female composer hadn't won prior to that night. It felt exciting for me, and I see this as a movement where more and more women are being invited into the film industry.”
Noone shares the sentiment of inspiration. With her history-making Oscars debut, she hopes to inspire future generations of female conductors and composers. "Little girls everywhere will see this and say: 'I think I'll do that.' That's what we want,” she told Variety.
Tune into the Oscars on February 9 to join the celebration of 2019’s best movies, but also to witness a historical moment that will inspire female composers of the next generation.