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Nick Heilborn
Registrace 15. 05. 2015
A Case Study of the Representation of Diverse Composers in State Music Lists
While music education in the United States is moving toward a more inclusive and representative medium, our repertoire has long been dominated by the “white European” style of music. The purpose of this study is to analyze two state music lists, and compare the demographic of the composers involved with the demographics of the students we teach. With this data, I hope to urge directors of ensembles, state music associations, and publishing companies to develop explicit plans of action in order to address the gap between our curriculum and our students. Further, I question to what extent this gap in diversity and representation affects the “Double Consciousness” of minority music students, and if music education can address some of its systemic inequalities in participation through a more inclusive repertoire.
In order to begin to assess diversity in our repertoire, I turned to two of the largest and dominating state music associations: the University Interscholastic League in Texas, and the Florida Bandmaster’s Association in Florida. Band contests are the closest musical equivalent of state testing; they provide a regulated assessment with standardized rubrics designed to evaluate the ensemble’s performance of their selected pieces. Both associations provide published lists of “approved” music for competition, from which bands must select if they want to be evaluated. Even for non-evaluated concerts, these lists serve as unofficial curriculum guides for directors, providing what could be seen as an “officially approved” list of repertoire - no different than state organizations selecting specific textbooks for traditional academic subjects.
I then cross-referenced these lists with data from the Institute of Composer Diversity, an online database of works by “diverse” composers. Our definition of “diverse” here means anyone who is not from the majority of white, cis-male, heterosexual composers. As of December 2020, the database contains 2,296 total works for wind band, simplifying down to a total of 459 diverse composers. I was then able to cross-reference the state lists with the diverse composer lists in order to identify which pieces were by composers of diverse subgroups.
Furthermore, I broke down the lists of repertoire into “grade levels” of pieces. While each state has its own grading system of difficulty, in general, grades 1 & 2 are for middle school ensembles; grades 3 & 4 for high schools; and grades 5 & 6 for colleges and professional groups.
In order to assess what standard we should expect if a curriculum truly represents its intended population, I’ve used Elpus & Abril’s 2019 study of music participation in high school ensembles. By comparing their results with the population of the United States, we see that there is an overrepresentation of white students in band, and significant under-representations of Black or Latino students. The division of males and females is roughly equivalent, with a 50/50 split in the overall population, and a 52/48 boy/girl ratio in band. Assuming the gender division is even across ethnic groups, we can extrapolate that only 26% of the population is a white male, or 31% of the band population. However, this is not at all reflected in the repertoire we are told to select.
The UIL list demonstrates this lack of representation quite clearly, with a noticeable drop in diversity around Grades 2 and 3 - the “meat and potatoes” of most pedagogical band programs. The 74% population representation and 69% band representation lines demonstrate the level of diverse repertoire we would need in order to accurately match our student population - a far cry from even our highest percentage in Grade 1.
The FBA list fares no better, also containing the same inverse bell-curve shown in the UIL list. Shockingly, there are no Grade 3 works that were identified as by diverse composers.
Even just sorting works by the gender of the composer demonstrates a startling lack of representation for females in band repertoire; only 35 of the 1,279 total works on the UIL list are by females - a total of just 2.74%.
The FBA list contains only 28 out of 1,603 works composed by females, totaling only 1.74% of the entire repertoire.
Background Music: Omar Thomas, "Of Our New Day Begun"
Performed by the JSU Wind Ensemble
A Composer of Diversity.
In order to begin to assess diversity in our repertoire, I turned to two of the largest and dominating state music associations: the University Interscholastic League in Texas, and the Florida Bandmaster’s Association in Florida. Band contests are the closest musical equivalent of state testing; they provide a regulated assessment with standardized rubrics designed to evaluate the ensemble’s performance of their selected pieces. Both associations provide published lists of “approved” music for competition, from which bands must select if they want to be evaluated. Even for non-evaluated concerts, these lists serve as unofficial curriculum guides for directors, providing what could be seen as an “officially approved” list of repertoire - no different than state organizations selecting specific textbooks for traditional academic subjects.
I then cross-referenced these lists with data from the Institute of Composer Diversity, an online database of works by “diverse” composers. Our definition of “diverse” here means anyone who is not from the majority of white, cis-male, heterosexual composers. As of December 2020, the database contains 2,296 total works for wind band, simplifying down to a total of 459 diverse composers. I was then able to cross-reference the state lists with the diverse composer lists in order to identify which pieces were by composers of diverse subgroups.
Furthermore, I broke down the lists of repertoire into “grade levels” of pieces. While each state has its own grading system of difficulty, in general, grades 1 & 2 are for middle school ensembles; grades 3 & 4 for high schools; and grades 5 & 6 for colleges and professional groups.
In order to assess what standard we should expect if a curriculum truly represents its intended population, I’ve used Elpus & Abril’s 2019 study of music participation in high school ensembles. By comparing their results with the population of the United States, we see that there is an overrepresentation of white students in band, and significant under-representations of Black or Latino students. The division of males and females is roughly equivalent, with a 50/50 split in the overall population, and a 52/48 boy/girl ratio in band. Assuming the gender division is even across ethnic groups, we can extrapolate that only 26% of the population is a white male, or 31% of the band population. However, this is not at all reflected in the repertoire we are told to select.
The UIL list demonstrates this lack of representation quite clearly, with a noticeable drop in diversity around Grades 2 and 3 - the “meat and potatoes” of most pedagogical band programs. The 74% population representation and 69% band representation lines demonstrate the level of diverse repertoire we would need in order to accurately match our student population - a far cry from even our highest percentage in Grade 1.
The FBA list fares no better, also containing the same inverse bell-curve shown in the UIL list. Shockingly, there are no Grade 3 works that were identified as by diverse composers.
Even just sorting works by the gender of the composer demonstrates a startling lack of representation for females in band repertoire; only 35 of the 1,279 total works on the UIL list are by females - a total of just 2.74%.
The FBA list contains only 28 out of 1,603 works composed by females, totaling only 1.74% of the entire repertoire.
Background Music: Omar Thomas, "Of Our New Day Begun"
Performed by the JSU Wind Ensemble
A Composer of Diversity.
zhlédnutí: 136
Video
Igneous - by Nick Heilborn
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Dr. Brian Utley, Alto Saxophone; Andrew Gaffey, Baritone Saxophone; Jack Allen, Piano; Nick Heilborn, Percussion
Welcome
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Julia Culp, Oboe; Thomas Desrosiers, Bass Clarinet; Max Randal, Piano; Chris Glenn, Bass; Josh Weinfeld, Drumset; Prof. Amy Jarman, Soprano In loving memory of the Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall's Fire Saftey Announcement™ (1980-2019) Filmed and Recorded on location at the Blair School of Music Please be careful when opening the overhead bins, as items may have shifted during takeoff or lan...
RudiMental - for TTBB Saxophone Quartet
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Kevin Shinskie and Emily Groff, tenor saxophones; Nick Heilborn and Adam Deloach, baritone saxophones Parts and Score: payhip.com/b/Bkdl See the original quartet for four bari saxes here: czcams.com/video/u62X6t6VgaQ/video.html
-you must be this tall to ride this ride-
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Nathan Keene and Stephen Adcock, euphonium; Daniel Dardon and Logan Owens, tuba composed by Nick Heilborn, for the Blair Tuba Quartet Get the parts and score here: payhip.com/b/uEyw
3and2and5and7 - by Nick Heilborn (conductor view)
zhlédnutí 48Před 4 lety
3and2and5and7 - by Nick Heilborn (conductor view)
3and2and5and7 - by Nick Heilborn
zhlédnutí 75Před 4 lety
Holly Venkitaswaran, flute; Patrick Mills, clarinet; Matt Leo, vibraphone; Max Randal, piano; Logan Owens, tuba; Nick Heilborn, conductor and composer Premiered at the Blair School of Music on October 30th, 2019 To purchase parts and score: payhip.com/b/r1IT Instrumentation is adjustable - if you're interested in performing the piece, just contact me and we can find a way for it to work!
Diametrically, the Same - for Tenor Saxophone and Percussion (2018)
zhlédnutí 11KPřed 5 lety
Diametrically, the Same Composed by Nick Heilborn (b.1998) Performed by Emily Groff and Kenny Swartout for Tenor Saxophone, Marimba, Vibraphone, and Kick Drum Diametrically, the Same is an exploration of opposites coming to confluence: the wooden marimba and reed meet the metallic vibraphone and brass; the saxophone as a percussive instrument against the lyrical mallets; and the juxtaposition o...
IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER
zhlédnutí 649Před 6 lety
For Large Choir and Narrator Composed by Nick Heilborn Text from Bill Safire Premiered February 9th, 2018, by the Vanderbilt Symphonic Choir IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER: Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know t...
III. Incendiary - from Fire Suite for Double Brass Quintet
zhlédnutí 157Před 6 lety
Movement III - Incendiary From Fire Suite for Double Brass Quintet Performed February 17, 2017 Elliot Life, Jeffrey Keever, Allie Bridger, Peter Gair, Trumpet; Samantha Hartsfield, Katie McMurray, Horn; Hiram Rodriguez, Trombone; Gavin Waite, Euphonium; Matt Leo, Percussion Pierce O'Brien, Logan Owens, Tuba
RudiMental - for Bari Sax Quartet
zhlédnutí 4KPřed 6 lety
RudiMental - for four (4/4?*) Baritone Saxophones Performed February 9th, 2018 at the Blair School of Music by Dr. Ryan Middagh, Tessa Berger, Nic Townsend, and Jack Larson *Not guaranteed to be in common time. Ask your doctor if you can try Multi-Meter Works©. Side effects may include, but are not limited to: 2/4, 3/4, 5/4, and 9/8. for questions, email me here: nheilborncomposition@gmail.com ...
Infinite Possibilities
zhlédnutí 46Před 6 lety
If education is truly in such a place, why do we still do it? For EDUC-1220
The Impossible Question
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An answer to the question: "What makes an effective teacher?" For EDUC-1220
Dentro del Azul - for Brass Quintet
zhlédnutí 85Před 6 lety
Dentro del Azul - for Brass Quintet As performed by the Blair Brass Quintet, consisting of Jose Sibaja, Jeff Bailey, Leslie Norton, Jeremy Wilson, and Gil Long. Recorded October 30th, 2017, at the Blair School of Music. A note from the composer - Dentro del Azul - or "Within Blue" - is a literal representation of the geography of Costa Rica. Grandiose mountain ranges and lush, verdant forests s...
Fire Suite for Brass Ensemble
zhlédnutí 282Před 7 lety
Fire Suite for Brass Ensemble (Winter 2016-2017) Movement I - Incandescence Movement II - Hearth Movement III - Incendiary Recorded 2-17-17, Performed by musicians from Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music
My Fiance and I are performing this for her Saxophone recital next Month. Looking forward to it. Such an amazing piece of music
Very enjoyable creation
Beautiful little harmony’s
Do you know what mallets were used?
Dude....what a great piece. Fantastic playing by all. Congratulations!
@0:36
Michael Keeler
lEts gO ms. gRoFf - from fms band 😳
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Me too, man!
CRAZY
That vibrato thoooo
Wow beautiful!! Thank you
This is awesome
This is so beautiful 😍 Love being a choir nerd
Great video
Haha is this a transcript of Trump? I can't stop grinning.
Judah Lampkin That it is! He lends some very interesting text to set.