Doriot Anthony Dwyer
| Doriot Anthony Dwyer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 6, 1922 Streator, Illinois |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Flautist, professor |
| Instruments | Flute |
| Years active | fl. ca. 1943–2008 |
| Labels | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Notable instruments | |
| flute | |
Doriot Anthony Dwyer (born March 6, 1922) is an American flautist. She was the first woman to be awarded principal chair for a major U.S. orchestra. She was the principal flute for the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1990. She was second flute for the National Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Music at Boston University.
Doriot Anthony Dwyer was born in Streator, Illinois on March 6, 1922. Her father, Wiliam C. Anthony, played bass and her mother, Edith M. Anthony, was an accomplished flutist, who played with her sisters on the Chatauqua Redpath circuit. Her father was related to suffragette Susan B. Anthony, though he disapproved of his famous cousin's work.
Though Dwyer requested to begin studying the flute at age six, her mother made her wait until age eight. She studied under her mother for one year, then began studying under Chicago Symphony Orchestra first chair flute, Ernest Leigl. At age 15, she qualified for the Illinois All-State Orchestra, and during her senior year in high school she won the national solo competition to attend the Interlochen Center for the Arts. While at Interlochen, she was offered a scholarship to attend the Eastman School of Music.
While attending Eastman, Dwyer first experienced gender bias in the music industry. Though she was permitted to play first chair in certain symphonic band selections, she was never selected as first chair for the student orchestra. After her freshman year, Dwyer auditioned for a piccolo position with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Upon impressing the conductor with her playing of a recent Stravinsky piece, he said, "You don't want to play in Pittsburgh. They're all men!" Upon graduation from Eastman in 1943, she won the position of second chair flute with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
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