2.2 The Hiddenness Index

4. The cultural (ethnic) background—e.g. does the family have a history of migration? This is of importance as not all ethnic communities encourage their young people to follow careers in Western classical music.

5. A miscellaneous dimension—e.g. do the young musicians have previous orchestra experience, a helpful music teacher and self-confidence enough to succeed in the field of classical music?

In the course of the three-year pilot programme, the factors and dimensions that may influence one’s chances of a successful career in classical music, were often reinforced and independently expressed by both the music professionals involved in Young (see the portraits in Chapter 1) and the participants. In the application format of the second and third editions of Young, the applicants were asked to reflect on why they would need extra support and how they would contribute to Young’s goal of representing the diversity of Europe and within European countries. We analysed the responses to these questions from the 2020-21 group. Although only 21 per cent of these participants indicated reasons why they could do with extra support given their circumstances, they mentioned similar factors. They said the country or (rural) area where they lived did not offer enough musical opportunities in general, or specifically for their instrument (trumpet, bassoon), they lacked the right connections and/or family support, and/or they lacked the financial means to afford an international (paid) music programme. They mentioned things like, “The area where I live, does not offer a lot of musical projects.” or “Young would open new doors. My family does not understand how important it is to leave the city to develop my skills as a musician. Portugal is isolated from the rest of the continent; there are not enough opportunities. I want to study abroad. My CV is not very big yet.” The vast majority of the 2020-21 participants simply stated that they saw the programme as a “great or unique opportunity” to develop their musical skills and musical confidence, to meet and learn from the best teachers and other young talented musicians. They stated that the experience would boost the advancement of a musical career. Two per cent of the 2020-21 participants honestly admitted that they already had had many opportunities so far, but that they would nonetheless still benefit from the experience in Young. The 2020-21 participants were more outspoken about ways in which they thought they could help Young to become representative of the diversity of and within Europe, than about their socio-economic needs. Of the participants, 33 per cent understood themselves as representatives of their national or regional cultural traditions. They would say things like, “because Poland is now part of the EU, I will be part of the first generation that will show the musical qualities of Polish women. I will bring colour to the sound of the orchestra with the tradition of Slavic singing.” Similarly, they would refer to the classical musical traditions of, for instance, Wales or Southern Spain. Almost 20 per cent of participants mentioned a bicultural background or double nationalities. The rest promoted themselves as the ideal participants for Young by pointing to their value systems: they were eager to learn, both socially and musically, from the intercultural exchange in Young (25%), they referred to the power of music to bring people together (15%), and/or they indicated that they respect and embrace difference (6%). As such, they could be understood to be part of a multicultural-minded group that might soon consider itself a minority in Europe, saying things like, “I consider myself a citizen of the world – of a united world, not one with barriers or fences”; or “I love music and I would love to know what music is like in other countries that might interpret it differently.”

2.2 THE HIDDENNESS INDEX

We constructed a ‘Hiddenness Index’ to calculate the level of hiddenness manifest in each group of participants and to better understand how the separate indicators of hiddenness that together explain the extent to which a person may be disadvantaged (hidden) combine in individual participants. In other words, the index was intended to capture hiddenness as a multi-layered phenomenon in individual participants (intersectionality). The application forms of the participants already offered us some information on some of the above-mentioned dimensions that can impede access to high-quality musical education and thus affect a young musician’s opportunities for a professional career in classical music, such as their country and city of residence, and their nationality. To gain further insight, we designed a Baseline Survey that was sent out to the participants of each edition after they were formally accepted to the programme and before the start of the Summer School. The Baseline Survey contained questions on, for instance, the personal and family background of the participants and their musical achievements so far. By combining the data from the application forms and that from the Baseline Survey, we ended up with nine factors that together made up the five dimensions of hiddenness – see the table below. These factors and dimensions then formed the input for our index. The index does not consider the

talent –musical skills and qualities– of the participants, because, even though these skills vary to some degree, they all passed the quality threshold and were selected.

On the basis of the factors the Young team regarded important to make it in the world of classical music, we assigned different weightings (see the table for the factors, weights and dimensions). There were five factors we considered the most important (assigned more weight: 2.0 or 1.0) and four less important factors (assigned less weight: 0.5 or 0.25). After determining the weight of each factor, we assigned the highest possible score (most hidden), a fraction thereof (slightly hidden), or the lowest score of 0 (not hidden on this factor) to the answers from each participant.

Geographic Economic Cultural/Ethnic Family Miscellaneous Dimension Dimension Dimension Dimension Dimension

Maximum weight = 2.0

Maximum weight = 1.0 Occupation Parents (max. 1.0 for each parent): Management positions, trained professionals=0,3 Support staff, civil servants, teachers=0,5 Skilled and other labourers, housemakers, unemployed=1,0

Geographic location (access to quality music education): Urban=0 Semiurban=0,5 Rural=1,0 History of migration (diversity): No=0 Yes=1 Assessment of factors aiding a successful career: Awareness of their talents=0.5 Supportive teacher=0.5 Parents with financial means=0.5 Social networks and connections to the musical field=0.5

Having been part of an orchestra (visibility to music institutions): Yes=0 No =1,0

Maximum weight = 0.5

Maximum weight = 0.25

Maximum Total 1,0 Music lessons: Both=0 Private=0,25 Public=0,5

Quality of the instrument: High=0 Semi-pro=0,25 Amateur=0,5 Parents are professional musicians: Both=0 One=0,25 Neither one=0,5

Any other family member is a musician Yes=0,25 No=0