Australian-born conductor Ingrid Martin has been selected as one of 10 women for the 2024-2025 Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Mentoring Program.

Established in 2002 by Marin Alsop, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship seeks to promote gender diversity within the field of conducting and is one of the most keenly sought programs in the sector. Each year, the program selects a few outstanding candidates from a global pool of applicants, based on their skill, dedication and potential for a significant international career.

Over the Taki Alsop Conductor Fellowship program’s existence, 36 conductors from 23 countries have been awarded. This figure includes past fellowship winners Karina Canellakis, Mei-Ann Chen, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Valentina Peleggi. Nearly two thirds of the program’s graduates have gone on to hold music director or chief conductor positions in orchestras around the world.

Ingrid Martin. Photo © Caleb Miller

Originally trained in medicine, Martin was a French horn player who began by conducting university ensembles. After working with Crosswinds Ensemble, Victorian Youth Orchestra and Bayside Chamber Orchestra, Martin stepped up to lead the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in 2022.

Martin has also led...