Musician Diversity
In This SectionFrom 2015 to 2025, there was little progress in increasing the very low representation of Black musicians, with only modest gains for other communities of color. In 2025, the racial and ethnic composition of surveyed orchestra musicians remained predominantly white (75.8%), with 2.1% identifying as Black, 4.1% as Hispanic, 11.6% as Asian, 2.3% as multiracial, 0.2% as American Indian, and 0.7% as Native Hawaiian.
Continuing an established pattern, women and non-binary individuals made up nearly half of the orchestra musician population in 2025, with their strongest representation in small to mid-sized orchestras.
Due to substantial differences in representation across racial and ethnic groups, data on musicians of color is not collectively reported.
This data includes orchestra fellows. Substantial differences in representation between individual racial/ethnic groups prevent the collective reporting of musicians of color.
2025 Snapshot
Why does the League track orchestra demographics? How was this data analyzed? What steps are orchestras taking to improve diversity of representation? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions.
2015-2025 Trends
Black musician representation saw only a slight increase, from 1.9% in 2015 to 2.1% in 2025. Black musicians were about twice as likely to work in smaller-budget orchestras than in their larger-budget counterparts.
Asian musicians continued to have higher representation than all other communities of color combined. In 2025, they were approximately 1.5 times more likely to work in larger-budget orchestras than in small to mid-sized ones.
Women consistently made up nearly half of the orchestra musician population over the decade. However, they were about 20% more likely to be employed in small to mid-sized orchestras than in larger-budget orchestras.
Why does the League track orchestra demographics? How was this data analyzed? What steps are orchestras taking to improve diversity of representation? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions.
More Resources
The League’s Inclusive Stages program is working to increase the racial diversity of musicians in American orchestras through research and coalition-building efforts.
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