The Grammys and The Challenge of Equitable Diversity

Chart-topping artists like Lil Nas X walked away empty handed, but people like Jazmine Sullivan and Doja Cat reaffirmed their footing with fans, and the Recording Academy, by taking home the highly coveted trophy in their respective categories. Even the biggest award, the Grammy for “Album of the Year”, went to Jon Batiste, who himself seemed to be surprised when his name was called, making him the 11th Black artist to win this award in Grammy history.

With these, and several other Black artists taking home awards, it would seem that the Recording Academy is paying close attention to the continued push for more Black representation in the way these awards are distributed, but a closer look shows there is still a high level of marginalization toward Black artists that many people ignore in light of the success of a select few.

Suzuki Association of the Americas Looks to the Future: Q and A with Exec. Dir. Angelica Cortez

Everyone that I’ve talked to has some relationship in the music world to Suzuki. Their teacher was trained in it or their parents were involved in it. Everyone is like one person removed at most from Suzuki. To me, it was such a huge opportunity to connect with the organization, and to really build on its history. The Suzuki model and the Suzuki philosophy is founded on this idea that music can be a tool for developing youth, instead of music being just kind of this gift that we give to people. We're using music as a tool for young people to understand themselves, to understand how they want to contribute to society, to understand how to connect with each other, to connect with their families.

american orchestras, awards, chamber music, competitions, composers, commissions, conservatories, funding, music, music administration, music education, music schools, opera, opportunities, orchestras, social justice, strings, support for BBIPOC music, young artistsChristine EscobarNovember 12, 2021music competitions, competitions, composers of color, Sphinx Venture Fund, Sphinx, sphinx organization, BBIPOC musicians, BBIPOC classical musicians, BBIPOC composers, Art of the Piano Festival & Foundation, Awadagin Pratt, Nina Simone Piano Competition, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Manhattan School of Music, Alexa Smith, New York City Opera’s Duncan-Williams Voice Competition, The Juilliard School, Weston Sprott, Composing Inclusion, New York Philharmonic, American Composers Forum