Student Focus Group #4

Takeaways

• A school can have many professors that are actively working for inclusion and a broader, more diverse canon, but if the efforts are not directed from the top, students will perceive that the school is not doing enough. Several students opened the conversation by saying that their schools are not progressive and they haven't had conversations about expanding repertoire -- but then they go on to talk about several professors who regularly give them new music by historically marginalized composers and talk about why it's important to perform. In the students' eyes, these are the actions of individuals who happen to work at the school -- if the directive is not actively institution-wide, the school will still be viewed as racist.

• Programming is not enough. Do not expect students to be satisfied just because you included a few pieces by composers of color. Talk about why it's important to do so, and discuss new performance considerations. Make it an educational experience.

• Just because a composer is from a historically marginalized group, it does not mean that their piece will be about that marginalization. Black composers don't only write spirituals. The performance community needs to stop celebrating diversity if it's only going to program stereotypical selections, marketed as diverse repertoire.

Music by Composers of Color