The Score | Denver Philharmonic’s New Looks

The saying goes, you look as good as you feel. Audiences at Denver Philharmonic Orchestra concerts have always been encouraged to wear whatever is comfortable—and those rules now extend to DPO musicians, too. This winter, the orchestra introduced a gender-neutral dress code allowing multiple options for musicians. Traditionally, symphony dress codes have two categories of acceptable concert dress: men and women. The updated rules use more gender-fluid language when outlining musician dress-code options, which include tuxedos, trousers, blouses, and long-sleeved dresses. “We started thinking about updating it after DPO bassist Xadie James Antonio asked if they could dress following our women’s dress code last May,” said Executive Director Valerie Clausen. “We pledged to update our dress code this season.” Antonio stated, “As a gender-queer, nonbinary person, I was thrilled. It is very affirming to be able to express myself in a way that fits the person I am. This very slight change in language has a huge effect on transgendered individuals and sets a precedent for other similar organizations to do the same.”