The 2024 Canadian Orchestra Repertoire Report has been released, providing an in-depth look at the diversity of music programming in Canadian orchestras.
The report, which is the second edition
of its kind, is a collaboration between
Rich Coburn, Director of BIPOC Voices
and Senior Manager of Community Partnerships and Repertoire Diversity at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Canada and Orchestras Canada.
According to Coburn, Canadian orchestras have made significant progress in increasing the diversity of their programming. “Our diversity is improving and it’s systematically improving,” Coburn notes. The data shows that the percentage of diverse repertoire has nearly doubled over the past few years, with 10.8% of the 2023-24 season featuring music by female, non-binary or composers
of colour.
However, despite this progress, the report also highlights that there is still much work to be done. The data reveals that 89% of the music programmed by Canadian orchestras is still written by white men, compared to 31% of the Canadian population who identifies as a white man.
Coburn emphasises the importance of understanding the problem in more detail to find scalable solutions. “I don’t think anybody has really clear ideas on scalable solutions for this right now,” he states. To address these issues, the report’s authors have developed a tool to help orchestras find and programme more diverse music. The tool, which includes a database of pieces by equity-seeking composers, allows programmers to search
for music based on instrumentation,
making it easier to find suitable pieces for their ensembles.
Key takeaways from the report include:
Diversity is improving systematically: The amount of diverse repertoire has nearly doubled over the past few years, with 10.8% of the last season featuring music by female, non-binary, or composers of colour.
Smaller budget orchestras are leading the way: These orchestras tend to have both the most and least diverse programming, while larger budget orchestras cluster around the 89% mark with regard to the amount of repertoire programmed by white men.
Length of pieces by diverse composers is shorter: The average length of pieces by diverse composers is only 50-60% as long as works by their non-equity-seeking counterparts.
Correlation between contemporary music and diversity: There is a strong correlation between programming more contemporary music and having more diverse seasons.
The need for scalable solutions: The report is a first step in understanding the problem. The next step is to find scalable solutions to the problem by continuing to talk with orchestras and broadening the conversation to include other partners.
Coburn’s work at the NAC is crucial in driving this conversation forward. His
role focuses on community partnerships
and repertoire diversity, making him a
key figure in promoting change in Canadian orchestras. In discussing the challenges faced by diverse composers, Coburn notes, “Writing a symphonic piece is a huge job,
so people don’t tend to do it unless they
have a commission. And so, a lot of times,
the orchestras are commissioning small,
short pieces.” This highlights the need
for more substantial opportunities for
diverse composers to create longer, more complex works.
To learn more about the report and its findings, visit morebipocvoices.com/orchestra-report/
