“Founded in 1997, this is the home of interchange between performers and scholars interested in art song by African-American composers. Here you will find information and links to assist with your discovery of our contribution to song.”
“Here you will meet 52 composers, conductors and instrumental performers – Africans, African Americans and Afro-Europeans. Many are alive today, but one lived 500 years ago! These artists are unknown to most of us, yet are so numerous this site can present only a fraction of them. They have made enduring contributions to Classical Music.”
Afrocentric Voices in Classical Music
“Afrocentric Voices focuses on classically trained American singers and composers of African descent and on the vocal music forms they influenced, especially opera and art songs–including Negro spirituals composed for concert performance.”
Music Theory Examples by BIPOC Composers
“This spreadsheet is the collaborative work of music theorists from around the world….The goal is to assemble a repository of examples by composers of color for use in the theory and aural skills curriculum.”
Asian Musical Voices of America
“Asian Musical Voices of America (AMVA) is devoted to community-building and activism for transformational change. TOGETHER, We build community among self-identified Asian Americans working and creating in classical music. We educate ourselves on the ways structural racism is present in classical music. We engage in activism to dismantle structural racism, promote equity, and lift up BIPOC musical voices working and creating within the field.”
“Inspired by the Stop AAPI Hate and Black Lives Matter movements, and by the exemplary work of our colleagues in the Black Opera Alliance, the founders of the Asian Opera Alliance came together to create a network of mutual support for Asian-identified opera professionals.”
“BIPOC Voices is a resource to help you program works for solo voice(s) and instruments by composers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour. From intimate vocal chamber pieces to staged works for a full cast and orchestra, BIPOC Voices is the starting place to learn more about these exciting composers!”
BlackPast.org: Music
“an online reference center makes available a wealth of materials on African American history in one central location on the Internet.”
Cello Works by Black Composers
“The information contained in the catalog is displayed using the criteria of composers’ name and personal website link (where available), as well as the works’ title, date of composition, duration, and instrumentation. Although this catalog does not grant specific information about purchasing scores for all of the pieces listed, it facilitates the search of scores and provides links of contact to the composers, where applicable.”
Chamber Music America: The Composers Equity Project
“A Database of ALAANA,* Women, and Gender Non-Conforming Composers
(Chamber Music America uses the acronym ALAANA to indicate composers who identify as African/Black, Latinx, Asian/South Asian, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Native American).”
“Chicago Sinfonietta champions diversity, equity, and inclusion by creating community through bold symphonic experiences.”
*Editor’s note: programs include education and outreach, as well as mentoring programs.
Center for Black Music Research
“The Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) highlights the role of Black music in world culture with materials originating or representing Black music from the United States, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Latin America, in a variety of formats: personal papers, scores, sheet music, audio-visual materials, photographs, oral histories, books, periodicals, and commercial recordings.”
“Classically Black Podcast shows listeners the world of classical music through the eyes of Dalanie and Katie: two Black classical musicians on the rise looking to share their perspective with a new and interesting twist. Classically Black Podcast centers Black voices and challenges ideas of what the field of classical music looks like. Additionally, by including humor and references to popular culture, the hosts aim to make classical music more approachable to listeners who are not classically trained. At its core, Classically Black Podcast was created with the purpose of showing Black musicians that even in an industry that so clearly lacks diversity, they are visible and their voices matter.“
“Celebrating & Connecting Filipino/a/x performing artists around the world.”
“Sharing BIPOC western classical music stories & looking towards a more inclusive, representative, and equitable future.”
Composers Diversity Collective
“Our core membership is composers of diverse backgrounds, but we welcome all industry professionals who demonstrate a commitment to these goals in their hiring and mentoring practices.”
Composers of Color Resource Project
“This webpage houses resources for music by composers of color. It is not intended to be limited to (a) “traditional” music theory topics or (b) notated music in the Western art music tradition. Analytical notes are being made available, while a Google Sheet [see above “Anti-Racist Music Theory Examples link] summarizes music theory topics that can be taught using the repertoire. We welcome submissions of annotated scores and lesson plans that incorporate the music of composers of color. This site will be continually updated with more resources for music theory instructors.”
“Creating In Color is a meeting place for BIPOC who work in music in the theatre. That includes all musical positions: musical directors, arrangers, pit and session musicians, audio engineers, composers, lyricists, copyists, rehearsal pianists, programmers, etc. Anyone who is a person of color who is involved in the creation of music for the theatre is welcome here.”
“Using research, training, and discourse to help music educators develop critical practices and challenge the established dominance of white Western European and white American music, practices, and narratives. Aim to disrupt the minimization and erasure of non-dominant cultures and identities in the field of music education to build a more equitable future through our work.”
Demystifying Indian Classical Music
“This website mainly focuses on the North Indian or Hindustani school of Indian classical music.”
“Equity Arc supports musicians of color at five pivotal stages of their development, through five essential areas of necessary support. The Arc Framework builds a bridge that supports BIPOC musicians throughout their journeys from initial entry to professional careers. It leverages our national network to transform the restrictive pipeline into a dynamic pathway.”
“FilAm Music Foundation’s mission is to encourage Filipino classical musicians through scholarship assistance and performance opportunities. The Foundation will collaborate with presenting organizations, and independently organize concerts in a wide range of venues including established concert series, schools, government, and community settings. The organization will award scholarships to deserving young Filipino musicians for the purpose of education and career development.”
“Gateways Music Festival aims to be a valued resource for classical musicians of African descent around the world. The Festival maintains a growing database of more than 800 musicians and invites all musicians of African descent to join our growing network.”
The History Makers-MusicMakers
The History Makers is “The Digital Repository For The Black Experience” “MusicMakers compose, perform, and promote music ranging from country to classical to doo wop and include lyricists, music executives, pianists, and orchestra conductors, among others.”
Indigenous Music Resources (North America)
A research guide curated by Camosun College consisting of materials and links pertaining to North American Indigenous music.
International Society for Black Musicians
“The International Society for Black Musicians (ISBM) is an organization for Black musicians. ISBM is dedicated to the advocacy of Black musicians and their work in the scholarship of music. The contributions of Black musicians are often ignored, appropriated, and deemed to be of less value than that of their non-Black counterparts. ISBM hopes to restructure the narrative by centering Blackness; using the musics of Black musicians as a new point of departure. We strive to be the connective tissue between musical artists throughout the diaspora in their multifaceted forms.”
Institute for Composer Diversity
“dedicated to the celebration, education, and advocacy of music created by composers from historically underrepresented groups through database resources and programming analysis”
“To provide a single, complete, and comprehensive online catalog that contains orchestral music from Latin America and the Caribbean, and to make it accessible to conductors, music directors, music administrators, librarians, students, teachers, researchers, and music lovers in general. This online catalog contains over 9,000 original orchestral works by over 1,600 composers from 24 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean, and serves as a bridge between the music and the composers or publishers.”
League of American Orchestras: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resource Center
“The League of American Orchestras Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resource Center is designed to provide practical and helpful insights, advice, and a path to greater diversity and inclusion in every part of your organization. You’ll find important readings, research, and a number of examples of leadership within and beyond our field. The League intends this space to be a useful repository of curated resources that will help us change existing discriminatory systems, allowing musicians, administrators, volunteers, and board members—regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion or any other dimension of diversity–to thrive in the orchestra field. And we again affirm our own desire to learn, to evolve, and to act alongside our members in this important work.”
The Margins Guitar Collective is an organization of performers, musicians, composers, and community members who are committed to created and supporting a diverse and inclusive guitar community. Founded in 2018 by Ciyadh Wells, the collective engages with this work through a robust commissioning program and concert series.
To inspire Black students to begin and continue instrumental training by showing them that they are an integral part of classical music’s past as well as its future.
To make the music of Black composers available to all people regardless of background or ethnicity.
To help bring greater diversity to the ranks of performers, composers, and audiences, and help change the face of classical music and its canon.
“We strive to make the study of music more accessible and inclusive through advocacy, technology, and support as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students move from high school to the collegiate level so that they have opportunities to pursue music as a career.”
“My People Tell Stories was started based on the premise that people of color need to tell and interpret their own stories. We provide services in arts education, including professional development for teachers, artists, and researchers who seek to center diverse, inclusive, and equitable practices in their work. We strive to do work that leads to the healing of mind, body, spirit, and soul.”
“a growing directory of people of color who work in audio around the world. You’ll find editors, hosts, writers, producers, sound designers, engineers, project managers, musicians, reporters, and content strategists with varied experience from within the industry and in related fields”
Percussive Arts Society Diversity Alliance Anti-Racism Resources for Music Educators
Editor’s note: spreadsheet listing a multitude of videos, lists, articles, books, and websites to foster anti-racism in music education classrooms and programs.
“a coalition of activist musicians ready and willing to use our art to speak out against injustice and speak truth to power. We consider it our responsibility as artists to use music to expand social consciousness and raise awareness about the pressing societal issues that affect us all, but especially the most vulnerable and marginalized among us.”
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
“The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.”
“Sphinx Organization is a social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Our four program areas – Education & Access, Artist Development, Performing Artists, and Arts Leadership – form a pipeline that develops and supports diversity and inclusion in classical music at every level: creative youth development, artist empowerment, and career advancement, administrative leadership, as well as service to the field.”
”Sound Off: Music for Bail combines classical music performances with presentations by individuals versed in the American criminal justice system and formerly incarcerated individuals in order to educate audiences and build inclusive communities. We are so glad you’ve come across us, and are hopeful you’ll be interested in joining us for a performance or a class. Feel free to hit the “Like” button to stay apprised of our activities. We believe strongly in paying presenters and performers, and center Black, indigenous, Latinx, and Asian people who have taken the time to work in liberation & reparative fields in our choices of instructors, musicians, and speakers.”
“CLASSICAL MUSIC has been misappropriated as a musical genre and culture rooted in the aesthetics of Western Europe.
TRILLOQUY is the weekly podcast built to DECOLONIZE the traditional definitions and conversations surrounding CLASSICAL MUSIC.”