The Risk of Cultural Irrelevance: Irrelevance: A Reality Check of Student Access to Statewide and Regionwide Ensembles Bobby Hamm, K-12 Supervisor for Arts Education East Windsor Regional School District rhamm@ewrsd.k12.nj.us
The life benefits students receive by participating in a Music Ensemble are undeniable. There is consensus that all students have access to the option of participating in the ensemble of their choice. When we examine the reality, we find evidence to the contrary. The same is true for students to have the opportunities to participate in Regional and All-State honors ensembles A review of student participation in NJMEA High School All-State and Region ensembles, from 2009 to 2020 (pre-COVID), estimates that the majority of students who audition for and participate in these ensembles come from NJ public schools that are majority white, and economically advantaged. When participating at the AllState level, during the same time period, those students performed musical literature mostly from composers who are White American males. In the 2019-2020 school year, statewide about 46% of the total high school aged student population was considered white, with a continued downward trend. Considering this point, why is All-State and Region ensemble participation not reflective of total student population. The NJMEA committee for Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) has conducted a data review, seeking answers to this, and working to establish a baseline data source, to help inform decisions. This data was presented to the NJMEA Board in January 2021. This research includes only Public Schools (tax payer funded), both School Districts and Charter Schools.
Performance Literature of All-State Ensembles from 2009 to 2020 In the past decade, a review of the performance literature, (386 pieces by 261 unique composers), performed TEMPO
by nine All-State level ensembles. Primarily, the background of the composers was examined, with respect to the composer’s gender, race, origin country, and language of text for vocal selections. • • • •
90.4% male composers 87.1% white composers 53.4% American composers 51% of vocal selections performed in English
Student Participation in Non-Traditional Ensembles An NJMEA membership survey was conducted, seeking information on student participation in non-traditional ensembles. The limited results (24 valid responses), suggest very limited student opportunities, let alone participation. The data also indicates that these ensembles “emerge” from classroom music settings.
Review of Student Participation in All-State and Region Ensembles 2009-2020 We looked at available All-State and Region Ensemble student participants (defined as both auditionees and performers), with an equity lense. Student participant racial and economic demographics were estimated, based on the district’s overall demographics, for that year, based on publicly available NJ Department of Education data. Note, “Districts” means a Public School District, or Charter School. 20
MARCH 2021
