Today’s episode features Michelle Hromin, who is an incredible contemporary clarinetist who played with me in the New York Youth Symphony! We start off by going through her musical timeline leading up to finding her place in the music world as a contemporary artist. I then expose myself as a brasshole who shares my beef with the clarinet, as we discuss the differences between clarinet and trumpet, and I end up submitting to clarinet’s redeeming arc. We then get into it by delving into the difficulties of being female musicians, specifically about how traditional patriarchal expectations that conflict with a performance career affect us, the gendered aspect of getting dress-coded, and how playing in a section as a woman feels like being put in a doubly submissive position. I share from my experience as a female section player on tour about how the gender, age, and power dynamics have been difficult and arguably oppressive at times. We then talk about accessibility as the key to classical music having a bright future, and how contemporary music can drive that change as it is music that is being composed today with the ability to make commentary on the world of today in a progressive and revolutionary manner. We conclude with Michelle sharing about her upcoming projects, including her pursuits in curating concerts and ensemble forming.