Elizabeth Rowe is redefining what it means to be a woman in the classical music industry

Elizabeth Rowe stands pensively at a crosswalk that will lead her to the New England Conservatory. Her shivering hands are protected deep within the pockets of her parka. The temperature outside is below freezing, and the black roads are caked in a doughy layer of snow. Across from her, an angry orange stoplight does little to deter the pedestrians around her; this is Boston, after all. Pedestrians jaywalk off the curb, unrepentant towards the cars blaring their horns, their shoulders hunched as they walk with an agitated gait to their next destination.

Elizabeth Rowe, however, is the last one standing on the sidewalk, completely unbothered by the normalcy of the situation. The walk light turns white, and she steps off the curb. When an unknowing car juts out in front of her, she stops, graciously motioning for the car to proceed before she does.

Her gestures are subtle and seemingly inconsequential, but they stick out juxtaposed with the rest of the Bostonians. It's essentially a small window into Rowe’s personality: Conscientious, diplomatic, the modern-day Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the classical music industry.

"I've always had a strong standpoint to treat people as people first before anything else," Rowe admits later in an interview, her light green eyes in a gaze that reveals her prudent nature. Elizabeth Rowe is the kind of person who understands the influence of her words and she selects them judiciously. "I have always tried to relate to the people in my environment with as much empathy, respect, and humanity as I can."

As simple as this truth is, she lives by this mantra from day to day. In 2018, Elizabeth Rowe garnered international attention when she filed a lawsuit against the Boston Symphony Orchestra seeking over $200,000 in unpaid wages. The lawsuit was the first of its kind under the Massachusetts Equal Pay Law, filed on the basis of gender discrimination in comparison to Rowe's male coworker and fellow principal oboist John Ferrillo.

Rowe speaks at TEDxBeaconStreet

Elizabeth Rowe looks like someone in her early twenties but has the compassion and wisdom of one much older. She has brunette hair and striking green eyes. Not one to be easily flattered or distracted, she remains poised until pressed about the flute, at which point she lights up with expression, like carbonation waiting to fire. Clearly, she is not the type of person who would willingly cause such an international commotion without a concrete reason, which is why it is important to understand the entire history that led her up to the lawsuit.

Rowe was born in Kansas and picked up the flute at seven years old. She later moved to Eugene, Oregon, where she studied with Alice Burke, who was an “amazing teacher” throughout Rowe’s middle school and early high school years.

"[Burke] had an absolutely impeccable sense of sound, good intelligent musicianship, phrase shapes, use of vibrato, intonation, basically all of the important building blocks of strong musicianship," Rowe describes.

Rowe eventually moved on to Dawn Weiss, the Principal Flutist of the Oregon Symphony at the time. Elizabeth Rowe would commute up to two hours from Eugene to Portland biweekly just to study with Dawn. Every lesson, she arrived thoroughly prepared and studied intensively in the two hour sessions with Dawn, who, in Rowe's words, "added to [my fundamentals] with a high standard of creativity and stylistic sophistication."

Rowe's childhood dedication to simply one extracurricular activity seems enigmatic to most. However, to her, managing this one passion was completely feasible. Her parents always supported her decision to study music to such a degree not only due to their heavy interest in classical music but also their firm lifestyle of structure.

"My parents never wanted me to overextend," Rowe recalls. Unlike most other youth her age who stewed in an incongruous mélange of sports, clubs, and activities, Rowe only had two intentionally culled ambitions: academics and the flute. Having such clear purposes early on helped Rowe immerse herself completely in both worlds to the finest degree.

It explains why, as a sophomore and junior in high school, Rowe won 1st place in the Oregon School Activities Association Solo Championships, the Solo & Ensemble competition held for all high school students statewide (she decided to not participate the following year to give others a chance). As a sophomore, she also placed 3rd in the National Flute Association High School Soloist Competition.

On top of her flute studies, Elizabeth Rowe was an extremely strong student. She graduated at the top of her class and spoke at her high school graduation. Among other top schools, she was accepted to University of Southern California as a Trustee Scholar, a highly competitive full-tuition award granted to students who have 99th percentile SAT/ACT scores and challenging high school curriculum.

These academic and musical talents brought Rowe to the gates of the USC Thornton School of Music. There, she studied with the legendary flutist Jim Walker and flourished as a musician.

Unlike many music majors, Rowe did not have the nurturing and intimate experience of a conservatory. She was exposed to the reality of the music world from the moment she stepped into the studio. It was part of Jim Walker's teaching philosophy: students were to function as adults and grow as a complete person during their undergraduate years.

He held auditions behind a screen every semester, and Walker would anonymously rank all his students from top to bottom. Those rankings would influence his studio member's orchestra seatings for an entire semester.

Not only that, but Jim Walker also had a balanced view of the world - competitive, demanding, but enjoyable. He knew that landing an orchestra job was not the key to lifelong happiness. He also knew that the goal of being the best was not the right goal for everybody.

Most importantly, Jim Walker imparted a special gift for Elizabeth Rowe that was quote, "extremely rare" for a renowned music teacher: Walker was, in fact, not invested at all in a particular outcome for his students. For that reason, although Elizabeth Rowe was pushed at Walker's demanding studio, she was never unnecessarily impelled by most well-known teachers’ desire to boast a renowned studio.

"This was a huge gift and, at that time, that was something extremely rare," Rowe remembers. "I felt extremely grateful knowing that however my life turned out and whatever life choices I made, it would be okay by him."

Perhaps this special teaching philosophy conjoined with the rigorous USC curriculum was the key to Rowe's career. Upon graduation, Elizabeth Rowe embarked far ahead of her peers. She served as a flutist of the New World Symphony for two years, the principal flutist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic for two years, the assistant principal flutist of the Baltimore Symphony for three years, and the assistant principal flutist for the National Symphony for about a year. She also served as a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory of Music and of the University of Maryland. In 2000, she won 1st place in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition.

At 29 years old, she landed her dream job at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of the world-renowned Big Five, in a blind audition against over 250 other top flutists across the world.  She became the only female member of the Boston Symphony’s elite Chamber Players and one of only two women principals in the orchestra (the other was the harpist).

Elizabeth Rowe performs with BSO's only other female player, Jessica Zhou

When she accepted her position in 2004,  Rowe had “asked to be paid the same salary Ferrillo [the orchestra’s principal oboist] had negotiated,” according to an article by The Washington Post. The orchestra instead offered a considerably lower salary.  As the Washington Post noted, while Rowe accepted their initial offer, she continued to ask for an increase in salary every year for the next 14 years but remained at a salary which was more than $64,000 below that of her oboe colleague and significantly below other male colleagues as well. A number of her male colleagues also received automatic annual salary increases, while she did not. This was despite the fact that Rowe is one of the symphony’s biggest marketing pieces; she performed as a concerto soloist in 28 BSO concerts over 14 years, more than any other member of the orchestra. These events culminated in the morning of July 2nd, the day Rowe officially filed her lawsuit against the Boston Symphony Orchestra on account of gender-based discrimination.

The politics of gender equality in the classical music industry are intrinsic and deep-rooted in traditional roles. According to a study by Berklee College of Music and Women in Music, an overwhelming majority, or 78 percent, of the 2,000 American women working in music agreed that they had been treated differently within the music industry. Another study conducted by The Washington Post found that only 14 of the 78 musicians in top orchestras earning enough to be listed on tax filings are women.

The public seemed to agree with Rowe’s standing on the issue. Just days after she filed the lawsuit, she amassed hundreds of positive responses from the media, their readers, and her followers. She garnered international attention as major media outlets reported her case, including the National Public Radio, The New Yorker, and CNN. The New York Times referred to her as “one of [Boston Symphony’s] most prominent musicians.” Following this, the Boston Globe recognized her in their annual Bostonian of the Year feature, calling her “The Fighter.”

This was when Rowe found her role shifting as a musical leader. In addition to her other roles as a flutist, lecturer, and mentor, Elizabeth Rowe was now an advocate.

Today, Elizabeth Rowe embraces opportunities to advocate for global change:  she was interviewed by Katie Couric for one of the first editions of the daily newsletter "Wake-up Call; " she joined other national leaders in the struggle for social justice at Ellevate Network’s 2019 Mobilize Women summit, speaking on a panel titled “Removing the Silence;” and on March 3, 2020, she presented as a keynote speaker at the Eastman School of Music's first-ever Conference on Gender Equity in Music.

In her 2019 TEDx talk titled “The Lonely Onlys; Transformed by Imagination and Vulnerability,” Elizabeth Rowe voiced the presence of loneliness in the top rungs of the industry and the lesson she learned from her isolation.

Most recently, she founded an online private Facebook group called “Seeing Beyond the Notes” to help classical musicians in the early stages of their careers, moderating the group in hopes of encouraging discourse and supporting young musicians.

With a following of thousands of supporters and as a top player and a lecturer at some of the distinguished musical institutions in the world, Rowe is one of the most influential leaders of the flute world today. She believes that everyone "can find the right balance between strong and clear leadership, and supportive and humane treatment of each other."

When asked to describe how she felt about her new stage in life, Rowe's face lights up with energy as she gushes a slew of adjectives: "Challenging, motivating, inspiring, invigorating, eye-opening... I am definitely committed to finding space for [advocacy] in my life."

Rowe is not completely sure of where the advocacy part of her life will lead, but she plans on finding herself speaking more publicly, supporting young professionals early in their careers, and engaging any discussion looks at both privilege and disenfranchisement in all spheres: race, sexual orientation, gender expression and identity, and citizenship status.

"Everyone has their role to play," Elizabeth Rowe states with a conviction resounding enough to persuade anyone. "Everyone can find a way to make an impact, even if it's in their own small circle."

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Elizabeth Rowe is not the first woman ever to hold a top position in a symphony. Before her, Doriot Anthony Dwyer became the first woman permanently appointed to a Principal Flute position in a major American orchestra in 1952. Frances Blaisdell became the first woman soloist of the New York Philharmonic in 1962. Jeanne Baxtresser became the first female principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic in 1981. However, Elizabeth Rowe is the first modern-day woman to firmly uphold her value as a woman in addition to maintaining her appointment within the upward battle of the male-dominated field.

In the end, the lawsuit concluded in private mediation, with undisclosed resolutions synthesized outside of the lawsuit. The Boston Symphony Orchestra promised to work more towards gender equality while Elizabeth Rowe agreed to drop the case. The official statement reported neutrally, but the greatest influence was already stimulated outside of the lawsuit: Rowe spearheaded a global conversation about the glass ceiling, women's rights, and gender equality in the classical music industry.

How should women be treated in the classical music industry? How should administrations handle transparency with their female workers? How do we address the uncomfortable juxtaposition between artistry and capitalism? And most importantly, what will the classical music industry do to help remediate these issues?