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by Theodore Wiprud with Dr. Karen Yair, Megan Delatour, and Suzanne Perrino

Youth, professional, and community orchestras all have the potential to foster young people’s growth as artists and leaders, instilling ownership and a sense of belonging. Through music, orchestras can contribute to the development of communities while ensuring the future vibrancy, sustainability, and relevance of the art form. 

Orchestras have a strong legacy in educational work, seen in family concerts, school residencies, and youth musician coaching. However, this work must engage young people in ways that allow them to feel fully seen, heard, and valued. Connecting with young people on their own terms as partners in shaping the future of music can transform our institutions and help orchestras be vital and forward-thinking assets to our communities.

This Catalyst Guide from the League of American Orchestras outlines how member orchestras are taking steps to center youth creativity, empower their voices, and create career pathways. Explore the Guide to gain insights on engaging younger, more diverse audiences, and learn from successful case studies that showcase what’s possible when we embrace the energy and ideas of the next generation. Scroll down or download the PDF to explore this guide.

Chapters

Conclusion: The Future Matters

The rewards of authentic youth engagement in renewing orchestra culture and recruiting new generations of musicians, teaching artists, leaders, audiences, and donors are very clear. The recent history of efforts toward greater equity, diversity, and inclusion shows that change is possible and healthy. Engaging with increasingly diverse and increasingly aware youth will help any orchestra achieve its mission to serve its whole community. We need young people. And we have so much to offer to youth in the richness of orchestral music and in opportunities for enjoyment, creativity, and careers. It is a two-way street.

Fortunately, many orchestras, including those seen in this guide, are already showing us ways to engage with and lift up youth. Now is the time to align the entire organization toward the future, to welcome new generations, to rediscover why we matter.

Footnotes/References

  1. How Does the Racial Makeup of Gen Z Compare to Previous Generations?, USA Facts
  2. LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Now at 7.6%, Gallup
  3. Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Culture for Gen Z, Forbes
  4. What is a Teaching Artist?, Teaching Artists Guild
  5. Creative Youth Development National Partnership, Creative Youth Development
  6. Protecting Youth Mental Health:  The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory (PDF), United States Department of Health and Human Services
  7. Trauma-Informed Practices, NEA

About the Authors

Theodore Wiprud is a composer and a consultant in arts and education, and was the longtime Vice President, Education at the New York Philharmonic. He has been active in multiple EDI initiatives, including the launch of The Catalyst Fund in 2019.

Dr. Karen Yair serves as the Vice President of Research and Resources at the League of American Orchestras. Under her leadership, the League has become the go-to location for orchestra data and insights, with an emphasis on EDI topics including demographic representation, inclusion and belonging, and audition and tenure practices. Karen developed the Catalyst Guide series to share learnings from orchestras advancing in EDI efforts to provide the orchestra field with the actionable, evidence-based intelligence needed to drive meaningful change.

Megan Delatour began playing the viola at the age of eight. As a violist, she has had the opportunity to study with musicians such as Barry Lehr, Jennifer Arnold, Shelly Tramposh, Gregory Williams, Daniel Philips, Kerry Ryan, and Brett Deubner. Ms. Delatour’s experience includes teaching with InterSchool Orchestras of America and the Harmony Program. As part of Interschool Orchestra’s summer administrative staff, Ms. Delatour created scholarships to increase students’ access to quality music education by auditioning for 15 slots on viola and cello for students of El Sistema programs to participate in ISO on a full ride. She maintains a private viola studio and has sent several students to participate in All State as well as students who pursued summer study at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Ms. Delatour holds a bachelor’s in music education from Queens College and M.M in Music Education with her focus being Culturally Responsive Pedagogy from Boston University. In partnership with Dr. Susan Davis, she will be presenting on culturally responsive concert programming and youth engagement as a part of the NYSSMA Winter Conference 2024. Ms. Delatour is currently the orchestra director of Talent Unlimited High School, Summer Arts Institute, and serves as Artistic Director of Interschool Orchestras of New York.

Suzanne Perrino is Senior Vice President of Learning and Engagement at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She is a strong advocate for access to high quality music learning opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds and abilities. Under her leadership, the PSO became a nationally recognized leader in orchestra education programming, cited as such in publications, presentations, and national forums. Under her leadership, the PSO has launched several ‘firsts’ in the industry, including the first fully inclusive Sensory Friendly Program, Music and Wellness, Early Childhood Initiative and Symposium, Entry Points Program, Community Side-By-Side, and the Audience of the Future. During the pandemic shutdown in 2020, she produced virtual educational programs including “Make Time for Music with Fiddlesticks” for preschool audiences, Practice! Practice! Practice! for middle and high school instrumental students, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” digital orchestra video for 143 Kindness Day, virtual “Lift Every Voice” Concert, a “Musical Storytelling” week in collaboration with the Allegheny County Library Association, and an in-patient room six-concert video series for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The Digital Schooltime Concert series continues to be offered online free for educators across the globe with multi-language offerings coming soon. Ms. Perrino has held local, state, and national board positions and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Performance (Oboe) and Certificate in Music Education (PA, K-12) from Carnegie Mellon University as well as a Master of Arts in Arts Management from American University.

Acknowledgements

The Catalyst Fund Incubator, Catalyst Guides, and Catalyst Snapshots are made possible by the Mellon Foundation.

Additional support for this Catalyst Guide is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Thank you to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, El Sistema USA, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Equity Arc, Houston Youth Symphony, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, InterSchool Orchestras, Madison Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Talent Unlimited High School, The Lewis Prize for Music, and YOSA (Youth Orchestras of San Antonio), whose learnings in equity, diversity, and inclusion work inform this Catalyst Guide.

Lead Author: Theodore Wiprud

Contributing Authors: Dr. Karen Yair, Megan Delatour, and Suzanne Perrino

Reviewers: Sam Andrews, Andrew Anzel Ph.D, Heather Briere, Najean Lee, Heather Noonan, Caen Thomason-Redus, and Simon Woods

Content Developer and Producer: Dr. Karen Yair

Creative Director: Rachel Rossos Gallant

Editor: Rachel Rossos Gallant

Designer: Melanie O’Neill

Web Layout: Joanna Bettelheim

Interviewees: Karisa Antonio, Eric Booth, Dwayne Burrell, Rebecca Calos, Amy Chung, Karen Cueva, Megan Delatour, Charles Dickerson, Lorin Green, Alison Levinson, Lindsey Nova, Gary Padmore, Suzanne Perrino, Laura Reynolds, Peter Rodgers, Bryce Seliger, Ankur Senapati, Jennifer Teisinger, Stanford Thompson, Daniel Trahey, Olga Vasquez, Sara Vicinaiz, and Najib Wong

© 2024 League of American Orchestras
Published on November 19, 2024.
A Catalyst Guide by the League of American Orchestras.
520 8th Avenue, Suite 2203, New York, NY 10018
americanorchestras.org

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Photo: Students rehearsing with South Dakota Symphony Orchestra musicians on new compositions by Zjhamere Richardson, written as part of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s Music Composition Academy program. Credit: Photo by Connor Gibbs.

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