The theme of the League’s 2016 Conference in Baltimore (June 9-11) is “The Richness of Difference”—and an important precursor to the Conference took place on December 2 and 3, 2015 in New York City, when the League cohosted a convening with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Some 50 leaders from across the country gathered to consider strategies to increase participation of musicians from underrepresented communities at American orchestras, explore the pipeline for musician development from early childhood onward, and identify possibilities for collaboration with partners within and outside the orchestral world. Attendees included a diverse representation of professional musicians and administrators from professional and youth orchestras, community music schools, conservatories, and El Sistema-inspired programs, as well as community engagement experts. They identified current gaps in services necessary to increase the number of competitive musicians from underrepresented communities and how the field might best strengthen efforts across the continuum of professional musician pathways, both as individual organizations and collectively. The Conference will be a critical venue to broaden these discussions.
