Abstract

The American art music canon has historically excluded the contributions of composers of color. This project investigates the barriers to diversifying the canon and decentering Whiteness in higher education and on the concert stage. The study comprises three distinct parts -- a survey for educators and performers, focus groups of college-level music students, and interviews with experts in the field. In each area, participants were asked about their experiences studying and performing music by composers of color and the barriers that have prevented them from doing so. Overall, the study found that while work is certainly being done to amplify composers of color, the work is often decentralized and confined to the school or region where it originates. In order to normalize efforts toward equity within the canon, music educators must set an example for their students by programming, discussing, and continuing to learn about music by marginalized composers.