Conference 2023: Orchestra Demographic Trends: 2014-2023

Speaker(s): Antonio Cuyler, Ph.D., Cuyler Consulting; Dr. Mieko Hatano, Executive Director, Oakland Symphony, Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, Oakland Symphony Chorus; Fernanda Lastra, Conductor Diversity Fellow, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Evan Linett, Cuyler Consulting; Mark Peacock, Board Member, League of American Orchestras and Nashville Symphony; Adam W. Sadberry, Flutist, Educator, and Storyteller, Concert Artists Guild; Sara Vicinaiz, Director of Student Experience, Youth Orchestra of San Antonio

Orchestras are in the spotlight more than ever based on who works in our field. Orchestra leaders and the authors of the League’s new demographics report discuss racial/ethnic and gender representation among orchestra musicians, conductors, staff, and board members. How has the field’s demographic makeup changed since last reported in 2016? How do we interpret the trends we see? How does your orchestra compare to this new data and what does it mean for your community? And — three years on from one of this country’s major moments of racial unrest and protest — what can we do to accelerate change?

This session is made possible by generous grants from the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Photo Credit: Jason Cohn