Youth Engagement – Chapter 4: Broadening Opportunity

In this section:

• Creating Pathways to Conservatory
• Leadership Training

Aiming to engage young people from all backgrounds in high-quality musical training, many tuition-free programs modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema have launched around the country, and many youth orchestras have initiated their own non-audition, tuition-free ensembles and lessons. Many are connected through El Sistema USA. The Empire State Youth Orchestra established CHIME three years ago to address a dearth of students from urban (rather than suburban) neighborhoods; CHIME now boasts 170 students, with the school district chipping in for transportation. Houston Youth Symphony launched the Coda Music Program nine years ago; its students are 99% Black or Brown. Three Rivers Young People’s Symphony created Tutti two years ago to serve more diverse populations. Whether or not students in these programs continue into audition-only youth ensembles, organizations report that students come away with valuable experiences and friendships. “Although it’s important, our mission is not to diversify concert stages, but to create exceptional programs,” says Houston Youth Symphony’s Amy Chung.

Creating Pathways to Conservatory

In recent years, many kinds of institutions concerned with young people’s musical training have begun to link up to create “pathways” (a term many prefer over “pipelines,” which has an extractive connotation) leading toward admission to conservatory. These institutions want to level the playing field between students whose families can and will support all their musical needs, and those unlikely to imagine advanced study or a career in classical music. Increasingly, orchestras look to pathways organizations to help increase diversity in conservatories, and in turn to increase diversity among those who take orchestra auditions.

The Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth (PMAY), now in its eighth year, was among the first of these pathways organizations. Its eight partner organizations include core partners such as Settlement Music School and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and affiliate partners such as the Philadelphia Orchestra. PMAY Director Najib Wong says that “as a biracial person who wanted to be a professional trumpet player, I was always having an experience of being othered. It’s difficult when you don’t see people like you onstage or among gatekeepers. So the work of PMAY is crucial to provide support from a young age so BIPOC musicians understand how to navigate this field.” By centralizing financial aid to follow the student rather than the institution, and advising on summer programs and important auditions, PMAY has helped guide young people into many of America’s top conservatories. “As we graduate more students,” Wong adds, “there will be bigger [BIPOC] networks to receive them.”

Stanford Thompson, also a trumpet player and himself a product of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Talent Development Program, is Executive Director of Equity Arc, which among other things is a national convener of pathways programs like PMAY. “At the end of the day,” he emphasizes, “young musicians have to practice and get good. That’s the number one priority. And the support they need also has to address their unique personal situations.” But youth-focused organizations cannot solve orchestras’ diversity problem alone. “My theory of change,” says Thompson, “is focused on orchestras adjusting their policies and practices, so that more mentoring and advancement opportunities can be earned by the growing number of underrepresented musicians eager to join professional stages.”

More orchestras are becoming part of such pathways initiatives. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is preparing to launch a Music Learning Catalyst to strengthen the music-learning ecosystem in Pittsburgh. The initiative will bring youth-serving music organizations together around advocacy and create pathways for talent development and broader access, potentially redeveloping Heinz Hall as a central facility for youth music. Suzanne Perrino imagines families coming and going, and children growing up comfortable with Heinz Hall.

Gary Padmore at the New York Philharmonic lauds the success of a project last spring, in which incoming Music Director Designate Gustavo Dudamel conducted high school musicians from partner organizations across all five boroughs of New York City. It’s part of a five-year plan to expand work with youth organizations. “One student [of 26 onstage] who played in our Spring Gala conducted by Dudamel was a hardworking young musician from Coop City in the Bronx who never had a private lesson. But he got accepted to Eastman, and we got him placed with [NY Phil principal bassist] Tim Cobb.” Padmore’s vision is to build out the ecosystem of youth performing organizations, and eventually to help develop music teachers and administrators as well as players.

Leadership Training

For Daniel Trahey at El Sistema USA’s Youth Ambassador Program, EDI and youth engagement are the same thing. Daniel asks, “how can we train kids to do more content work? Teaching, advocating, congregating peers, public speaking? The best results are people who can teach and lead and play.”

The Youth Ambassador program is scaffolded, with adults coaching youth leaders who are giving workshops to those just a bit younger. Gradually, they take on more responsibility. “This is really what kids were doing a hundred years ago,” says Trahey, helping raise their younger siblings. “The difference is we train students and back them up with infrastructure, ready to support any failures.” Also helpful: the program pays students a stipend.

The San Diego Symphony’s High School Ambassadors program is a paid summer internship that includes front-of-house work. “Students get to practice what it is to work in a performing arts institution,” says Laura Reynolds. Their capstone project is designing a concert based on conversations and mentorship with staff in artistic planning, operations, marketing, personnel, financial literacy, interviewing skills, and more. Staff and board are invited to hear the concert and sometimes come away with fresh ideas for their own work. SDS surveys students throughout the program, asking what advice they have for the next cohort and for staff. “Every year we’ve actually implemented change as a result,” says Reynolds, “like the timing of when speakers come to class, and the number of team building activities. We learn from youth across the institution.” Accepting 30 students each summer, High School Ambassadors is now in such heavy demand that Reynolds and her team have implemented blind applications, while weighing the results to assure geographic and socioeconomic spread.

At the Pacific Symphony’s arts-X-press camp, Alison Levinson has built up a cadre of counselors that are alumni of the program; they return to give back and they match the diversity of the camp itself. More experienced counselors help train new ones, and eventually they grow into senior staff. Says Levinson, “we need more artist-leaders. Whether they go into the arts or not, just having that sense of creativity will set them up to navigate complexities in the future.” Finally, The Lewis Prize for Music is dedicated to promoting youth voices to drive positive change in society. “Having heard often at League, Cleveland Orchestra, and Florida Philharmonic board meetings about the lack of music education in the schools negatively impacting attendance at orchestra concerts, I decided to focus on youth development through music and arts,” says Daniel Lewis, Founder and Chairman. “What is available in schools too often doesn’t reflect the culture and heritage of the young people being taught. Creative Youth development (CYD) programs are shifting this. At The Lewis Prize for Music, we support CYD programs focused on systems change, with clear visions for improving their communities guided by the experience and leadership of their young artists. Grant recipients provide a wide range of direct services beyond teaching music, are dedicated to achieving access for all youth, and collaborate and evaluate themselves against clear objectives. We’ve only received a handful of applications from orchestras and youth orchestras that moved to our second round by demonstrating these characteristics. This remains an immense opportunity for orchestras to become more impactful and relevant to the communities that support them.”

Photo: The San Diego Symphony learns from its High School Ambassadors, regularly implementing their suggestions for improving the concert experience. Shown here: High School Ambassadors from the Summer 2024 program. Credit: Shea Perry