Abbie Conant’s battles against sexism in the orchestral world have become legendary. The story of her epic battle and ultimate victory against egregious gender discrimination at the Munich Philharmonic, where she won the principal trombone position in a screened audition in 1980, has inspired writing in print publications ranging from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink, which spent 18 weeks on the NYT bestseller list. It was also featured in a ninety-minute documentary broadcast on German national television.

After winning her lengthy court case, Ms Conant was awarded a tenured professorship at the Trossingen College of Music in Germany and retired from the orchestra in 1993.

Ms Conant has judged most of the world’s major trombone competitions, including the Geneva, Porcia, Moscow Conservatory and ITA competitions. She has students in many different orchestras and teaching positions, including two former students in the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, the Stuttgart State Opera, the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony, the Regensburg Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, to name but a few.