ii To my mother, Dorsey Phelps, for all of her support and to whom I am grateful for always demonstrating that a woman can accomplish whatever she sets her mind on, and to my grandmother, Virginia Phelps, a wonderfully intelligent and generous woman. iii There are many reasons these days for not going into music as a career, but being female is not one of them. Alan Rich Careers and Opportunities in Music, 1964 v ABSTRACT Although women have slowly been accepted in America's top orchestras,

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... are still a minority. Certain instrument sections remain predominantly male in spite of the implementation of blind auditions. Inconsistency in the use of the screen in blind auditions is partially responsible for the lack of women in orchestras, but the problem is seeded in cultural constructions that act as barriers for female brass, percussion and string bass players. Gender constructions have dictated that women should not play instruments that are loud, heavy or require physical exertion. Nonetheless, many women have shown that they are capable of performing as well as men on these instruments. Brass players are often the highest paid in an orchestra, thus women musicians face economic discrimination when they face bias at the hiring level or in the workplace.