Voices for Change in the Classical Music Profession

How is the classical music industry responding to the challenges of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and other social justice movements? Is increasing attention to equity and diversity in the classical music profession over recent years leading to systemic change? In this book, scholars, activists and musicians from countries across Europe and North America analyze inequalities in the classical music profession and introduce strategies for making change. Exploring racism, class and gender inequalities, disability representation, "authenticity", changing the canon, and neoliberalism, the book brings together analyses from academics alongside contributions from musicians and industry leaders working in the classical music industry who reflect on issues of diversity and share insights and best practices.
Themes of the book include institutional legacies and possibilities for change; racial, classed and gendered inequalities and marginalised voices; and strategies for activism, whether reflective practices, informal networks, or larger organisations leading change. The book also discusses questions such as whether musical change is necessary for social change in classical music, and how activists can acknowledge structural inequalities whilst holding on to the possibility of change. Opening up the interdisciplinary field of "classical music studies," this book lays the groundwork for empirically-founded, theoretically-informed, and practice-based approaches to tackling inequalities in the classical music profession. As such, it will be a significant point of reference for musicians, students, classical music administrators, policy-makers, teachers, and academics -- and anyone else who wants to make classical music more inclusive.

Anna Bull is Lecturer in Education and Social Justice at the University of York. A former professional pianist and cellist, her research interests include class and gender inequalities in classical music education and staff sexual misconduct in higher education. Her monograph Class, Control, and Classical Music (2019) was joint winner of the 2020 British Sociological Association Philip Abrams Award. Anna is also a co-founder and director of The 1752 Group, a research and campaigning organisation working to address staff sexual misconduct in higher education. She has worked with music education charity Sound Connections on youth voice in classical music education, publishing a toolkit for teachers in 2022. Christina Scharff is Reader in Gender, Media, and Culture at King's College London. She is author and co-editor of several books, including Gender, Subjectivity, and Cultural Work: The Classical Music Profession (2018). Dr. Scharff's research on the classical music profession, funded by the ESRC and British Academy, has contributed to our understanding of inequalities in the cultural and creative industries, the subjective experiences of precarious work, and the psychic life of neoliberalism. Dr. Scharff's other area of expertise is in engagements with feminism, building on her first monograph Repudiating Feminism: Young Women in a Neoliberal World (2012). Laudan Nooshin is Professor of Music at City, University London, having previously taught at Brunel University and Goldsmiths University of London, where she gained her PhD in Ethnomusicology in 1996. Laudan's research interests include creative processes in Iranian music, music and youth culture in Iran, music and gender, urban music studies, and music in Iranian cinema. She is a co-founder and currently co-Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Music Studies Network and she is also a Vice-President of the Royal Musical Association in which role she leads the RMA EDI Working Group.

Introduction Anna Bull and Christina Scharff PART I THE MAKING OF CLASSICAL MUSICIANS 1. Class and Gender Inequalities in the Recruitment of Classical Musicians: Reflections on the Case of Italian Music Conservatoires Clementina Casula 2. The Role of Music Conservatoires in the Making of Classical Music Careers Rainer Prokop and Rosa Reitsamer 3. Social Inclusion in Contemporary British Conservatoires: Alumni Perspectives Jennie Joy Porton 4. Inside Looking In: Strategies to Counteract Misconduct in Artistic Teaching within Higher Music Education David-Emil Wickström PART II PROBLEMATIZING INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE 5. (Un)settling Institutional Hegemony: Challenges of Diversity Strategies in the "Western" Classical Music Sector Kristina Kolbe 6. "To Share Music with Children": The LA Phil and Neoliberal Philanthropy in Inglewood Mina Yang 7. A Critical Perspective on Diversity and Inclusion in US Classical Music Discourse Marianna Ritchey 8. Staging a Loose Canon: Scripture, Tradition, and Embedded Exclusion in Opera Production Caitlin Vincent 9. Disability Representation in Opera Charlotte Armstrong PART III MARGINALIZED VOICES 10. Gender and Class: An Account of a Female Percussionist in the Classical Music Industry Beth Higham-Edwards 11. Making Space for Disability and Music to Interact: An Interview with Composer Oliver Vibrans Oliver Vibrans 12. Black on the Podium: An Interview with Conductor Brandon Keith Brown Brandon Keith Brown 13. Creolization, Mixing, and Plurality: An Interview with Composer Hannah Kendall Hannah Kendall PART IV RACIAL INEQUALITIES 14. The New "Yellow Peril" in "Western" European Symphony Orchestras Maiko Kawabata 15. Irreconcilable Senses of Belonging: Transnational Japanese Artists in the Quest for Authenticity in the World of Classical Music Beata M. Kowalczyk 16. [Re- ]training Classical Musicians Toward Polymusicality and Hybridization: An Interview with Jon Silpayamanant Jon Silpayamanant 17. Inclusion and Diversity in the Early Music Scene in the US: A Conversation with Patricia Ann Neely Patricia Ann Neely 18. On Leaving Classical Music: An Interview with Anthony Gray Anthony Gray PART V ACTIVISM STARTING WITH THE SELF 19. (Dis)orient Yourself!: Disrupting White Ontologies in Classical Music Eleanor Ryan 20. Everyday Bridges: A View from the Field Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey 21. Illuminating Women's Music: Exploring the Canonic Ethos behind the Illuminate Women's Music Concert Series Angela Elizabeth Slater 22. Changing Classical Music from the Inside: An Interview with Chi- chi Nwanoku Chi-chi Nwanoku PART VI ACTIVISM: BUILDING NETWORKS FOR CHANGE 23. (Un)Silencing Blacktivism in Opera: An Interview with Quodesia Johnson about the Letter to the Opera Field from Black Administrators Antonio C. Cuyler 24. Reflecting on the Work of Gender Relations in New Music: Institutional Critique and Activist Strategies Brandon Farnsworth and Rosanna Lovell 25. Addressing Inequalities in the Music Industry before, during, and after COVID- 19: The Campaigning Work of the UK's Independent Society of Musicians Deborah Annetts, Vick Bain, Chris Collins, Vinota Karunasaagarar, and Dr. Kathryn Williams 26. "A Community of 30,000 Musicians behind You": An Interview with John Shortell from the UK Musicians' Union John Shortell Afterword Gillian Moore Discussion Questions for Teachers, Students, Reading Groups, and Industry Leaders References Index