“I was never drawn to the job for the sake of power, or for the sake of wanting to control, or wanting to tell 80 or 100 people what to do,” Ruth Reinhardt, the Rhode Island Philharmonic’s newly appointed music director and the first woman to hold the post, told the Bryant community members who had gathered for her talk. “I was drawn to it because I loved music so much and because, to me, making music has always been the best way of communication, and the most natural way of communication.”
Much of the audience had already witnessed that communion first-hand. More than 40 members of Bryant’s Women’s Leadership Living and Learning Community (LLC) — a multi-year program that provides women students with critical skills and approaches that support their success as leaders — had attended one of Reinhardt’s first concerts as part of an initiative to fill the audience with women from around the state.
Now Reinhardt returned the favor by visiting campus and taking part in a discussion hosted by the Women’s Leadership LLC, the Ellen Wilson Leadership Fellows program, and Bryant’s Division of Student Affairs. Over the course of the hour-long conversation, led by Caroline Latour ’28, who had attended the performance, and Inge-Lise Ameer, Ed.D., vice president of student affairs and dean of students, she shared thoughts on leadership, finding your passion, and discovering courage within yourself.
Appointed to the music director position in June 2025 following an extensive international search, Reinhardt is known for her innovative programming and bringing new names to many orchestras — including a significant emphasis on women composers. She admitted, however, to being ambivalent about her regular billing as “the first woman” in various spaces.
“It's very often highlighted, which I sometimes think is good in some ways because it raises awareness. But there's a part that I don't like so much because my gender has nothing to do with my job qualifications,” said Reinhardt.
Though she works in a male-dominated field, the environment has improved over the years, she shared with the audience. “Rarely do you still get a comment from an orchestra manager before you come, like, ‘Oh, you know, our orchestra doesn't have a problem with female conductors,’” Reinhardt noted with a wry smile.
“Even if you feel like it is a stupid question, I would say you should ask that stupid question.”
Working closely with other members of the Rhode Island Philharmonic’s creative team, Reinhardt oversees all aspects of productions — a position that requires a clear vision, but not a tyrannical hand, she told the students.
“I like to give as much freedom as possible without it becoming a riot,” she said.
A good leader encourages collaboration but is also steadfast in their own vision, Reinhardt noted. “Having the guts or the ego to stand up there and say, ‘I think my way of doing this piece is the way that we should be doing it — that's part of leadership too.”
Reinhardt also offered advice to the students on how to pursue their own path as leaders. “You have to be yourself, because people will know if you are not,” Reinhardt said. “But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work on yourself. For me, personally I had to work on a way that I didn't get eaten alive just because I was nice.”
She also advised the students to find community in their work and mentors who could guide them — as she had found her own mentors during her career. Even if they felt intimidated, Reinhardt implored, they needed to find the courage to reach out. “Even if you feel like it is a stupid question, I would say you should ask that stupid question.”
Above all, she suggested, it was paramount to find a vocation that matched your passion. “The first time I got to conduct, I immediately thought, ‘Oh my God, this is it, I have to do this no matter what,’” Reinhardt recalled. One of the many reasons she loved her job, she said, was the opportunity to take the audience on an emotional journey.
The orchestra’s concerts are a “place to gather and experience something together.”
She was grateful, she said, that the Women’s Leadership LLC students had been able to share that experience with her. “As a performer, you can really feel the audience's energy. And I felt that there was such a great energy in the hall that night. Thank you so much for that,” Reinhardt told the audience.
Her gratitude was more than returned by the audience members, including Mariana Espinal ’28, a Women’s Leadership LLC member who had attended the concert. “I've never really been to a performance like that before; it was such an incredible experience,” Espinal said. Hearing from Reinhardt — “a woman in such a powerful position in a field that’s dominated by men,” she said, made it even better.
Following the discussion, the crowd adjourned to a special dinner with Reinhardt, joined by Ameer and other Bryant faculty and staff. One of the best parts of the evening, LaTour noted, was being able to view Reinhardt as not just a pioneer or a role model or an expert in her field, but as a person as well.