How does it feel to be a woman conductor?

Someone once asked that question of Nadia Boulanger, who replied that it didn't feel much different, since she'd been a woman for more than 50 years.

Lots of people are asking the same question of Marin Alsop these days, including Martin Goldsmith, who posed it just before a broadcast of her debut as music director of the Baltimore Symphony, aired over XM radio, which I heard in my car on Sunday.

Then, in my e-mail this morning, I heard from Alan Flaherty of Cincinnati who asks,

"Is Marin Alsop getting an affirmative action boost because she's the first female music director of a major US orchestra, or is she more than Paavo Jarvi the future of U.S. classical music?"

It's true, she's getting lots of print, including the New York Times. Frankly, it's been a long time coming for women, and many of us who have watched her progress are cheering because she is talented, deserving AND is finally getting recognition in what has for too long been considered the domain of mostly white males. Think about it: This is the 21st century, and she is the ONLY woman who has ever won music director of a major American orchestra.

Women have come a long way in overcoming old prejudices. Yet, there are still only a few women among thousands of conductors on national rosters, Jarvi told me last year. Marin told me in 2004, "As I look around now, I still feel quite lonely. I'm surprised."

But all of the female conductors that I've interviewed -- Alsop, Sarah Ioannides, Xian Zhang, Keri-Lynn Wilson, to name a few -- have said that they focus only on doing their work well and passionately, and not on drawing attention to themselves because they are women. Certainly, they have never sought "an affirmative action boost."

Alsop said in that interview on Sunday that she hopes her position will be an inspiration to other young women coming up -- showing them that indeed, it is possible. And yes, Alan, I am hoping that Marin's success, as well as more diversity across the board, is the future of classical music in America.