{"id":270916,"date":"2020-10-06T04:56:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T08:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=270916"},"modified":"2020-10-06T04:56:17","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T08:56:17","slug":"we-need-each-other-black-classical-musicians-are-building-supportive-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/10\/06\/we-need-each-other-black-classical-musicians-are-building-supportive-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We need each other’: Black classical musicians are building supportive communities"},"content":{"rendered":"
An orchestra can be a hostile place for a lone Black classical instrumentalist.
\n(Pexels)<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Music has been significant for many during COVID-19 isolation<\/a>, and in these same months Black musicians<\/a> have amplified the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While pop or hip hop music are genres whose agility and responsiveness make them natural sites for popular commentary<\/a>, this threatens to neglect other arenas of music making.<\/p>\n

Some arts organizations in Canada have pledged support for Black Lives Matter<\/a>, turned their platforms over to Black artists or spotlighted their work. Recently a virtual event aired, \u201cBlack Opera Live: Canada<\/a>,\u201d featuring acclaimed sopranos Measha Brueggergosman, Othalie Graham and Audrey DuBois Harris, produced by Black Opera Productions<\/a>, a U.S. documentary film company. But what of a wider and cohesive community of Black classical instrumentalists in Canada today?<\/p>\n

While there is a long history of professional classical musicianship in the Black community, there are gaps of knowledge about Black classical artistry in Canada.<\/p>\n

Black classical artists may spend their careers in majority-white orchestras and small ensembles across Canada, without knowledge of others who share their experience. But this may be changing as Black classical artists are starting to tell their stories<\/a>, change the trajectory of their careers, challenge how arts communities are defined<\/a> and step into leadership roles where they call for systemic change.<\/p>\n

Black classical Canada<\/h2>\n

In the United States, a 2016 study<\/a> by the League of American Orchestras found that less than two per cent<\/a> of musicians in American orchestras are Black<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Similar data isn\u2019t available in Canada. A study commissioned by Orchestras Canada about orchestras\u2019 relationships to Indigenous peoples and people of colour<\/a> published in 2018 found that systemic inequity and coloniality underpinning Canadian classical music creates hierarchies reinforcing racism and cultural appropriation. Ethnomusicologist Parmela Attariwala<\/a> authored the study with writer Soraya Peerbaye. Attariwala notes that because of Canada\u2019s privacy laws, they could not compile race-related statistics about who is part of orchestras. She is now exploring the idea of orchestras taking voluntary statistical surveys.<\/p>\n

Some prominent Black classical artists<\/a> have gained newfound attention through work by Black Canadians: Conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor<\/a> founded the Nathaniel Dett Chorale<\/a> in 1998, honouring the Black Canadian-born composer and pianist<\/a>. Classical singer and Nova Scotian Portia White<\/a> has been the subject of several Black artists and writers<\/a> and became more commonly known in 1999, through the introduction of a memorial stamp<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although research has been broadly conducted into how colonialism<\/a>, diversity initiatives<\/a> and post-secondary hiring practices<\/a> have affected Black participation in classical music, we have yet to see a comprehensive study of Canadian Black contributions to Canadian classical music history.<\/p>\n

Absence of colleagues, mentors<\/h2>\n
\"Side
Bassoonist Sheba Thibideau.<\/span>
\n(Sheba Thibideau)<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is no comprehensive listing of contemporary Black classical instrumentalists in Canada. As the co-authors of this story, our shared interest in classical musicianship emerged through discussions, and an interest in reporting on Black classical instrumentalists came to the fore. Of the five Black classical instrumentalists whose work we were aware of, three were available to participate in interviews.<\/p>\n

Black classical instrumentalists often experience their successes, as well as the subtle and overt blows of anti-Black racism<\/a> without the support of colleagues and mentors who might help navigate such terrain. All were pleased to have their experiences brought to light.<\/p>\n

Negative experiences can start early.<\/p>\n

Bassoonist Sheba Thibideau was told that her lips were \u201ctoo big\u201d to play the flute and that she was \u201cnot suitable\u201d for violin by the principal of her elementary school in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Tanya Charles Iveniuk, who is on faculty at Axis Music<\/a>, the Regent Park School of Music<\/a> and the University of Toronto<\/a>, had an easier entry. Surrounded by the sounds of her older brother practising the piano, she announced, at age three that she wanted to play the violin. And so it was.<\/p>\n

In university, however, both musicians described impacts of anti-Black racism<\/a>. It often appeared as mysterious absence of access: to the appropriate performance-level student orchestra, to mentorship and information on how to navigate the invisible pipeline<\/a> to professional life as a classical musician. They experienced micro-aggressions, at times, outright hostility or a lack of awareness of different economic circumstances.<\/p>\n

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\nRead more:
\nHow anti-Black racism on Canadian university campuses robs us all<\/a>
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Both question how their careers might have been different<\/a> if they hadn\u2019t spent considerable energy navigating, explaining and protecting themselves within the pressure cooker of predominantly white environments and power structures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a great career now,\u201d says Iveniuk, \u201cand yet, I\u2019m haunted by that question.\u201d This is psychic and emotional work that white (and often Asian<\/a> peers)<\/a> aren\u2019t required to do.<\/p>\n