Abbie Conant


Abbie Conant is an American trombonist who was selected in a blind audition as the overwhelming first choice for Principal Trombonist of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in 1980 but faced discrimination once the selection committee learned they'd chosen a woman.
The auditions were held with musicians and the selection committee separated by a screen, a practice that was unusual at the time, because one of the other 32 musicians auditioning was the son of a prominent musician. After her audition, the orchestra's then Guest Conductor Sergiu Celibidache exclaimed "That's who we want!"
After they made their selection, the selection committee were shocked to discover their winner, whom they'd mistakenly invited to audition as "Herr Conant," was a woman. What followed was thirteen years of subtle and blatant harassment by Celibidache, who had since been promoted to Music Director. He demoted her to second trombone and refused to give her solos, explaining that "we need a man for solo trombone." Conant successfully sued the Philharmonic for discrimination and got the position of first trombone back in 1988. She sued them again for back pay when she discovered that, per Celibidache's orders, she'd been paid less than her male colleagues.
The story was "my inspiration" and served as the concluding chapter for Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller, Blink, and was told in a 1994 full-length documentary film, Abbie Conant: Alone Among Men by Brenda Parkerson.
Conant was raised in New Mexico and attended the University of New Mexico, Temple University and Juilliard. Her teachers included Per Brevig, Branimir Slokar, and Christian Lindberg.
Conant is married to composer William Osborne, with whom she produces "chamber music-theatre" under the name The Wasteland Company. She is currently Professor of Trombone at the Musikhochsule Trossingen.