On Tuesday May 9th exactly one year after the Black Orchestral Network (BON)’s “Day of Solidarity” addressing anti-Blackness in US orchestras, the organization released a statement on social media protesting the Kansas City Symphony’s recent denial of tenure to acclaimed Principal Percussionist Josh Jones. Represent Classical’s Jay Julio interviews BON co-founder and Steering Committee member Jennifer Arnold about this latest development.
Read MoreThe fearless approach that Slocumb continues to take in his follow-up book Symphony of Secrets envisions histories of Black composers and performers of diverse experiences pushing against oppressive systems, fighting for their lives and their art, and indeed winning. It offers hope as historical contributions by musicians of color continue to be excavated, and diverse modern-day masters continue to get increased recognition.
Read MoreBrooklyn new music institution National Sawdust played host to Wednesday’s March 15 show titled joy. The name was apt; from the moment Palaver Strings and double bass soloist Kebra Seyoun-Charles began filing on stage in their appropriately diverse and festive attire, the packed audience received them with a roar of applause.
Read MoreFeaturing music by living Black composers, the concert program will be led by Interlochen Orchestra director Dr. Leslie Dunner, recipient of the Leonard Bernstein American Conductors Award and the NAACP's James Weldon Johnson and Distinguished Achievement Awards.
Read MoreIn collaboration with Groupmuse’s Planetary Music Movement and PROTESTRA, Sound Off: Music for Bail presents a hybrid program of chamber and orchestral music by leading contemporary and historical Black American composers alongside "Yet Unheard" a cantata dedicated to the life and memory of Sandra Bland by Rome Prize-winning composer Dr. Courtney Bryan at Playwrights Horizons Downtown.
Read MoreThis year BIPOC classical composers' works have been Grammy nominated in several award categories and BIPOC classical musicians perform on a number of Grammy nominated recordings in the Classical Music category, as well as the Americana category.
Read MoreThe 3-day event is sponsored by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and is now in its fourth year. The symposium's organizers say despite the fact that more women graduate from prominent conservatories and schools of music than their male counterparts, they are "severely underrepresented in titled conducting positions, in programming by major orchestras, on stage as soloists, and in management leadership positions."
Read MoreThe Indo-American Arts Council, a New York City based non-profit that promotes Indian theater, performing arts, media, fashion, and literature in the United States, will celebrate 75 years of Indian independence this month with three concerts August 13 to 15 at Carnegie Hall featuring top Indian classical and contemporary musicians.
Read MoreInspired by the viscerally provocative poem, "Here, Bullet" by Brian Turner, the art song of the same name by composer Kurt Erickson is, among many things, a plea for western classical arts spaces to directly address gun violence.
Read MoreWhile this story may seem inappropriate, exaggerated, and even far-fetched for many classical concert goers, the reality of gun violence is becoming more widespread and normalized across American society. As of mid-July, 2022, over 300 mass shootings had been reported in the United States, with associated deaths stacking up to over 60. Orchestral and opera venues have long been considered “safe spaces” where issues of systemic racism, patriarchal norms, and class division (among others) have been pushed to the proverbial nosebleeds, but as the issue of gun violence continues to grow, so should the attention that arts institutions are paying this issue.
Read MoreWith the ever-growing awareness and celebration of Juneteenth, let it shine as an example of what’s possible through our collective diversity. Let Juneteenth, and the evolutions of music and culture that it has inspired, be something we all celebrate.
Read MoreThe opera, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis, debuted in 1986. This new performance will be staged just a short distance from the house in the Roxbury neighborhood where Malcolm X (1925-1965), born Malcolm Little, lived during his formative adolescence.
Read MoreThe new “2022 Orchestra Repertoire Report” says that over the last several years there’s been an increase in how often American orchestras perform works by composers of color, women composers, and living composers. The report also examined programming trends dating back from 2015 to the current season.
The study was produced by SUNY Fredonia’s Institute for Composer Diversity, in partnership with the League of American Orchestras, with support from the Sphinx Organization’s Venture Fund. Data for the study was gathered from season announcements and the websites of medium and larger budget orchestras.
Read MoreFounded by Jennifer Arnold, Alexander Laing, David A. Norville, Joy Payton-Stevens, Shea Scruggs, Weston Sprott, and Titus Underwood, the Black Orchestral Network describes itself as “a community of Black orchestral artists” who “love and care about the American orchestral community.” However, with that love comes concern. BON sees the relative lack of Black talent in professional orchestras as a huge problem and has entered the arts activism field with not only a mission, but with a call to action.
In BON’s formal call to action, the organization offers some of the context that inspired their very direct approach, namely, a 2014 statistic that highlights the fact that less than 2% of American orchestral musicians are Black.
Read MoreThe George Walker Center for Equity and Inclusion in Music opened April 16 at the Eastman School campus at the University of Rochester campus.
The dedication included remarks by University of Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf; Jamal J. Rossi, Joan and Martin Messinger Dean at Eastman; Ian and Gregory Walker, sons of George Walker, and others, as well as performances of Walker’s chamber music works.
Read MoreSNL has pushed ahead in making sure it stays competitive by inviting crowd favorites to its stage, with the latest being Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known by most people as Lizzo, who hosted the show on April 16. With her flute always close by, Lizzo’s opening monologue, her pair of incredible, full-bodied musical performances, and her natural ability to make people laugh gave SNL yet another reason to believe in the power of engaging the “now”.
Through it all, the flute traveled with her, and remains a vital part of her musical identity. To date, Lizzo’s unique approach to music has had broad impact, with much of her work inspiring body positivity, emotional health, and in the latest episode of SNL: an indictment of western classical music.
Read MoreRepresent Classical’s popular video series, CONVERSATIONS, is now available to listen to on Spotify.
Hosted by Christine S. Escobar, Founder and Editor of Represent Classical, each episode of “CONVERSATIONS” features in depth interviews with industry leaders, notable musicians, movers, shakers, and innovators in classical music and related genres.
Stay tuned for Season 2 beginning in late spring with more insightful and thought-provoking discussions on the change that musicians of color are creating in the music industry.
Read MoreAccording to a newly published report by SMU Data Arts, unemployment in the arts doubled that of the national average in the U.S., with BIPOC individuals and those with disabilities bearing the brunt of the impact.
Although employment returned for some workers of the arts sector, this recovery appears to have been virtually nonexistent for BIPOC and disabled workers.
Read MoreWith just under one month to go until their groundbreaking Carnegie Hall season feature on Sunday April 24, the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, composed entirely of Black musicians, will perform for a capacity audience as tickets for the concert are nearly sold out.
The 7 day Gateways Music Festival, which runs from April 18 to 24, consists of two full orchestra concerts, six chamber music performances, two piano recitals, two film screenings, two lectures, a panel discussion, a Young Musicians Institute, and an “after hours” jam session.
Read MoreIt would be a long shot (no pun intended) to expect orchestral musicians, for example, to put down their instruments and pick up weapons, but there are steps that can and have been made in the arts sector toward supporting the people of Ukraine during this most challenging time. What does support for Ukraine from arts organizations look like, though? It's a question that a few arts institutions have engaged directly, one that holds historical precedent, and even one that could challenge the very notion of an arts organization's role in this broad world of social and political challenge.
Read More
