Assimilation v. Integration in Music Education

Leading Change engages with an existential question for American conservatories and orchestras: what does it mean to diversify Western classical music? Many institutions have focused solely on diversifying the demography of their participants, but without a deeper conversation about structural oppression in classical music, this approach continues to isolate and exclude students of color. Rooted in the author¿s experience working with BIPOC students at a major American conservatory, this book articulates the issues facing minority students in conservatories and schools of music, going beyond recruitment to address the cultural issues that alienate students. The author argues that the issue of diversity should be approached through the lens of aesthetics, and that the performance and pedagogy of Western classical music must change if a more diverse membership is to thrive in this genre.

Reflecting on the author¿s experience through the lens of recent critical theory in