Eímear Noone will be conducting at the 92nd Academy Awards, cementing her place in history as the first woman to ever do so at the ceremony. The Irish-born composer “will conduct excerpts from the five nominated scores,” according to Variety.
No further details are known — it’s unclear “whether all five themes will be presented as a medley or separately, or whether the 42-piece Oscar orchestra will be onstage at the Dolby Theatre or in the pit,” the source notes.
When asked about the gig by Variety, Noone criticized the Academy for taking so long to hire a woman to conduct. “The wonderful producers at the Oscars decided that they would like to finally see a female presence on the podium after all these years,” she observed. Noone, who also made history as the first woman to conduct at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, emphasized how excited she is to interpret the music of her “heroes and she-roes.” She added, “It’s an honor to be there, to help normalize something that I do every day. Little girls everywhere will see this and say, ‘I think I’ll do that.’ That’s what we want.”
An advocate and mentor to creative women in music and tech, Noone has composed extensively in film, TV, and video games.
“Joker” (Hildur Guðnadóttir), “Little Women” (Alexandre Desplat), “Marriage Story” (Randy Newman), “1917″ (Thomas Newman), and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (John Williams) are in the running for the Original Score Oscar. Guðnadóttir is the seventh woman to ever be nominated in the category. She took home the honor at the Golden Globes, making her the first woman to ever win the award solo.
Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain are producing the 2020 Oscars, set to take place February 9. All five nominees up for Best Director are men. Just five women have ever been nominated for the honor: Lina Wertmüller (“Seven Beauties”), Jane Campion (“The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”), Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), and Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”). Bigelow is the sole woman to claim the prize.
Check out the video below to see Noone in action — and discussing some of the sexist treatment she’s received in her male-dominated field. “Maestros, everything you’ve done, I’ve done seven months pregnant and in heels,” she says.
