Diversifying the Symphony

In reply to Afa’s Day 3 post:

If, as a minority, one never sees themselves on stage, hears themselves from the audiences, communicates with anyone who resembles them from orchestra administration, how might we go about that idea of having orchestras become part of their communities?

Each of us can only speak from our own experience but I have never heard a black or Hispanic person articulate this view in regards to their personal perception of orchestras. I have sometimes heard Hispanic (and white) people in San Antonio say that the perceived pomp and formality of the concert hall makes them feel out of place, or that they find classical music boring. I don’t think either of these has anything to do with the race of the musicians or composers but more to do with the archaic, tired conventions of concert presentation and etiquette. Let’s give blacks and Hispanics some credit. Most of us, while strongly tied to our cultural heritage, also want to be part of the greater community and don’t attend concerts as “Hispanics” or “blacks” but as music lovers. If we insist on radically restructuring programming to include a certain percentage of black and Hispanic composers, then it should follow that we will have to display a certain percentage of black and Hispanic painters in all of our museums at the expense of other painters. Also, we will have to shelve a statistically appropriate percentage of books in our libraries by blacks and Hispanics at the expense of white authors. More to the point, if we truly want programming to accurately reflect the community, we should also insist on at least a 50/50 ratio of male to female composers. Personally, I don’t think this is the solution. Let’s do as much as we can to promote diverse, quality programming in addition to (but not at the expense of) our standard repertoire. Let’s not forget that there are symphony orchestras throughout Latin America and I would venture to guess that the bulk of their programming is very similar to ours.

I heard an NPR story just a couple of days ago that contained an anecdote that succinctly illustrates my opinion. Lorraine Gordon, the owner of the Village Vanguard jazz club, said she had recently received a call from a man asking for a reservation at the club. He wanted to know if the band playing that night was white or black.

“I said ‘Excuse me. What difference does it make to you?’ I got a little bit nasty, maybe. I said ‘I don’t understand this question. Are you coming to hear the music or look at colors?'”