This Chicago Symphony Orchestra flutist took her baby on tour and kept a diary about it

On a recent morning in Ann Arbor, Mich., Emma Gerstein slipped into the bathroom of her hotel room and shut the door quietly behind her. Her 10-month-old son, Ronan, was napping in the next room. In a few hours, Gerstein, 39, would be on a plane and headed for Carnegie Hall in New York City, where she was due for a rehearsal with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Klaus Mäkelä. Questions about how to strike a balance between work and parenthood are ones women — especially women in the arts like Gerstein, who perform in highly visible, prestigious roles — have often discussed privately: backstage, in locker rooms, over the rhythmic whir of breast pumps. Even at places like the symphony, where music directors like Georg Solti and Riccardo Muti have helped make the orchestra more welcoming for families, there remains an enduring fear that motherhood can be a career killer. Listen to the full tour diary at WBEZ.org. Story by Elly Fishman. Images by Todd Rosenberg Photography and Giacomo Cain/Sun-Times.