On the first day of every rehearsal, I’ll greet the conductor with a friendly, “Good morning, maestro,” or “Nice to see you, maestra.”

Without fail, the best conductors will amiably reply, “No need for titles, my first name is fine,” while the most insecure and dictatorial will accept the honorific as their just due and prove to be an insufferable nuisance for the rest of our time together. But, as the industry continues to be populated by more friendly, collaborative and (dare I say it) diverse musical leadership, I’m calling for the elimination of this nonsensical term. And there are various reasons why this would be a change for the better.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in the film Maestro, conducting an orchestra.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in the film Maestro, now screening on Netflix

“Maestro” is Confusing

In the Italian language – in common with other Romantic tongues – its nouns are gendered. An ‘o’ at the end suggests masculine, while an ‘a’ indicates the feminine. Over time, the (shameful) lack of female conductors has led the term “maestra” to evolve from “female...