Musical Diversity
When considering diverse repertoire, ensure the music itself is diverse in both compositional approach as well as pedagogy. Through your ears you will find diverse composers who share their story through their notes whilst keeping the sharing of music from around the world the focus of your music education goals.
It is possible to select a program that features female composers and people of colour in all age categories and have a concert of music that pretty much all sounds the same. Where is the diversity in that?
Dr. Nicholas Williams, University of Melbourne, Australia
What is Colour
Bria - Grade 8 - Guest Conductor - Rosemount Middle School during the première of 'Letter from Sado' by Jodie Blackshaw (ACF BandQuest 2014). Photo by Ingrid Martin
FULL Music?
Did you know that as late as the 1970's, most of the world's orchestras were populated by men?
To change the gender ratio, blind auditions were created. Soon after, blind auditions also included the removal of shoes. As a result, women began to successfully secure orchestral positions and the male:female ratio changed.
It took a concerted effort to encourage this change and today, a blend of male and female orchestral performers is considered normal.
ColourFULL Music, along with other groups, is making a concerted effort towards another kind of "new norm" - wind band concert programs that represent a diverse selection of composers.
To program ColourFULL Music is to populate concert programs with works by ColourFULL composers, i.e. composers of varying gender, colour and age.
To help generate this "new normal" we have invited conductors we know and trust to create ColourFULL concert programs. These programs will inspire your imagination and they are there to be used in whatever way works best for you.
In programming ColourFULL Music we will forge a new future for wind band music, one FULL of colour, FULL or equality, FULL of tolerance, FULL of respect.
Jodie Blackshaw | Composer | Australia
