The Risk of Cultural 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 real- ity, 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 stu- dents who audition for and participate in these ensembles come from NJ public schools that are majority white, and economically advantaged. When participating at the All- State 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 con- sidered white, with a continued downward trend. Consid- ering this point, why is All-State and Region ensemble participation not reflective of total student popula- tion. The NJMEA committee for Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) has conducted a data review, seeking answers to this, and working to establish a base- line 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 litera- ture, (386 pieces by 261 unique composers), performed
TEMPO 20
by nine All-State level ensembles. Primarily, the back- ground 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, seek- ing information on student participation in non-tradi- tional ensembles. The limited results (24 valid responses), suggest very limited student opportunities, let alone par- ticipation. 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 En-
semble student participants (defined as both auditionees and performers), with an equity lense. Student partici- pant 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.
MARCH 2021
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