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.

All Black Gateways Orchestra To Perform To Capacity Audience at Carnegie Hall Debut

With 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.

EVENTS: "Girls of Yellow Diamonds" Concert To Honor Asian American Women

Wear Yellow Proudly will present “Girls of Yellow Diamonds” a concert featuring Asian women composers and poets Friday, March 11 at 7:30 pm. ET at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

The event aims to uplift the stories of Asian women, honor the memory of the victims of the March 2021 Atlanta shootings, and celebrate International Women’s Day. Mezzo-sopranos Alice Chung, Sophia Maekawa, Pauline Tan, and pianist Ting Ting Wong will perform.

EVENTS: Midwest Premiere of "The Chevalier"-Music of The Baroque ft. Brendan Elliott

Music of the Baroque will perform the Midwest debut of the concert theater work “The Chevalier”, written by Bill Barclay and featuring violinist Brendan Elliott, February 18 to 20 in Chicago.

NEW RELEASE: Catalyst Quartet ft. Michelle Cann "UNCOVERED Volume 2: Florence B. Price"

Catalyst Quartet today releases UNCOVERED Volume 2: Florence B. Price on Azica Records. The 2-CD length digital album is the second in a series of a multi-volume anthology highlighting the GRAMMY award-winning string quartet’s works by important Black composers.

Volume 2 is entirely devoted to the six known string quartet and piano quintet works of composer Florence B. Price – including four world premiere recordings – performed with pianist Michelle Cann, recipient of the 2021 Price Award.

“Cool Story”: Jonathan Bingham's Plan to Record and Publish Unheard Howard Composers

As a student at Howard University in 2010, composer Jonathan Bingham attended a small chamber music concert by “The President’s Own” United States Marine String Quartet with about 40 other audience members. On the program was the 1st movement of a string quartet by the late composer Mark Fax (1911-1974). A private recording of the concert was made by Howard and shared with Bingham and other composition students and faculty.

CONVERSATIONS: Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate On Being True to Your Identity

RC Editor Christine S. Escobar speaks with Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate in the latest installment of “Conversations” on being true to your identity and defining how the world sees you.

Each episode of Represent Classical’s “Conversations” series features in depth interviews with industry leaders, notable musicians, movers, shakers, and innovators.

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a critically acclaimed Oklahoma based composer and pianist dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition.

EVENTS: Ear Taxi Festival Celebrates Chicago’s New Music Scen

Ear Taxi Festival, one of the largest urban celebrations of new and experimental music, runs September 15 to October 4 in venues across Chicago.

Presented by New Music Chicago, the festival is now in it’s 5th year and celebrates new, contemporary classical, experimental, creative, electronic, and other types of music and “sound-practice” composed by, improvised by, and performed in Chicago by Chicagoans.

NEW RELEASE: Tyshawn Sorey ft. Alarm Will Sound-“For George Lewis”

Composer Tyshawn Sorey’s double-album, featuring the chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound, releases on Cantaloupe Music on August 27.

Recently profiled in the New York Times Magazine, Sorey has been called a denizen of the “in-between zone” by the New Yorker. The two works on the album, commissioned by Alarm Will Sound, tap into a central theme that Sorey calls “the decorating of time.”

CONVERSATIONS: Armando Castellano on Culture, Expression, and Leadership in Classical Music

RC Editor Christine S. Escobar speaks with Armando Castellano: President, Founder and Artistic Director of Quinteto Latino in the latest installment of “Conversations” about the contributions and experience of Latinx/Latin Americans to classical music, and the importance of changing the nature of arts leadership.

Each episode of Represent Classical’s “Conversations” series features in depth interviews with industry leaders, notable musicians, movers, shakers, and innovators.

NEW RELEASE: Apollo Chamber Players "With Malice Toward None"

Apollo Chamber Players releases their fifth studio album “With Malice Toward None, August 20 on Azica Records.

The album is “a collection of globally-inspired compositions and collaborations, with each composer sharing their own personal interpretations of folk music.”

PriceFest 2021 Celebrates Life and Legacy of Composer Florence Price

The International Florence Price Festival will be holding its 2nd annual festival "PriceFest 2021: A New Black Renaissance” online from August 20-August 23rd, 2021, sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Music.

Classical Music Industry Leaders On the What, Why, and How of EDI

Thursday at the League of American Orchestras virtual conference “Embracing a Changed World”, a number of leading figures held discussions in two sessions focused on racial equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). They focused on tangible solutions to barriers facing orchestras and organizations attempting to reckon with equity, diversity, and inclusion from within.

New UK Based “Black Lives in Music” to Use Data, Advocacy to Advance Equity

The UK-based organization Black Lives in Music (BLiM) is using data and advocacy to amplify and empower Black musicians and music creators, in response to the widespread calls for equity for Black musicians.

Afro-Diasporic Opera Forum Studies Impact of Black Composer Contributions on the Genre

The International Contemporary Ensemble, in partnership with Opera Omaha and FringeArts, presents the Afro-Diasporic Opera Forum online from May 26-28.

The Forum is a free, three-day series of online events produced by colleagues and collaborators of the International Contemporary Ensemble to celebrate, share, and reflect on four operas that have made a major impact on the organization and its collaborators.

Abolish the Systems of Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia in Industry and Community

In the history of the United States, there exists no industry or institution that has been spared from the systemic oppression of white supremacy. This publication was founded to push back on the pervasiveness of white supremacy within the industry of classical music.

Tonight: Activist Orchestra "The Dream Unfinished" Debuts New Show

Tonight at 4:30 p.m. EST, The Dream Unfinished will debut a new YouTube series spotlighting the economics and labor of learning repertoire outside of the classical music canon, lesser-known masterworks by underrepresented composers, diversity, equity, and inclusion within classical music, and concrete tips for everyday people to become instruments for change.