Orchestras face calls to improve repertoire diversity

UK orchestras are ahead of the global curve when it comes to the gender and race diversity of their repertoires, but compositions by dead white men still dominate across most performance programmes, a study has found.

A new report from the charitable foundation Donne – Women in Music looked at the 2021-22 season repertoire of 111 orchestras across 31 countries, including Canada, USA, France and Japan.

Across global orchestras a total of 20,400 compositions were analysed. Of these 92.3% were by men, of which 4.5% were from the global majority. A total of 7.7% of compositions were by women, of which 2.1% were from the global majority.

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UK orchestras showed higher levels on gender and race diversity than the global averages. Of the 3,874 compositions analysed across 22 UK orchestras 89.9% per cent were by men, of which 5% were global majority. Meanwhile, 9.9% were by women, of which 2.3% were global majority.

Writing in the foreword to the report, Donne founder Gabriella Di Laccio said: "The inequality and lack of diversity that our data demonstrates across classical music reflects the lack of opportunity that women face across all musical genres.”

"Orchestras from around the world work with international guest musicians and conductors, playing for audiences in iconic venues, multiplying their reach through live streaming, many with the support of established brands as sponsors.

“The prestige and reputation of these orchestras and their sponsors puts them in a privileged position where they could be an example for others and act as a game changer when it comes to creating real impact.

"Yet, when you look at the data, it is very clear that the industry is missing an opportunity to create an inspirational environment that is more inclusive and diverse, and that gives everyone an opportunity to be seen and heard.”

Diversity divide

The Donne report gathered data on the scheduled performances of 22 UK orchestras from all four home nations, with the gender and race diversity of repertoires varying widely across orchestras.

London Contemporary Orchestra ranks third in the world for gender diversity, with 38.5% (10) of its 26 scheduled performances being compositions by women, of which three were from the global majority.

Chineke! Orchestra, which was established to provide opportunities for Black and ethnically diverse classical musicians, ranks highly for the racial diversity of its programme. Of its 100 scheduled compositions, 66%were by composers from the global majority. Only Chicago Sinfonietta, on 66.7%, ranked higher.

At the other end of the scale, 97.7% of performances by Academy of St Martin of the Fields chamber orchestra were by men, with just 0.4% of these from the global majority.

The figure for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra was 96.4% of compositions by men, of which 6.7% were global majority, while 95.3% of performances by London Philharmonic were by men, 4.2% of which were global majority.

The UK’s two busiest orchestras in terms of performances had an almost identical gender ratio. Of London Symphony Orchestra’s 484 scheduled performances, 423 (87.4%) were composed by men, 6.4% of which were global majority. And of Manchester-based Hallé Orchestra's 400 scheduled performances, 350 (87.5%) were by men, with 2.5% from the global majority.

Meanwhile, only 7% (27) of the 388 scheduled performances by City of Birmingham Orchestra were by women.

Hanna Madalska-Gayer, Head of Policy and Communications at the Association of British Orchestras (ABO), told Arts Professional that UK orchestras are committed to addressing the issue.

She said that while the imbalance of representation is still stark, “we know first-hand that those leading the UK's orchestras are committed to finding ways to address this, and the ABO is committed to supporting the sector to work collaboratively to make progress”.

She added that “there’s no question” much more work needs to be done. Initiatives currently in place include the ABO’s annual Sirens grants. These fund concerts, tours, recordings and education work in order to “raise awareness and appreciation of the music written by historical women from around the world”.

Historical compositions

The report found that historical compositions by white men still dominate the orchestral repertoire. Globally, 76.4 per cent of the works performed were written by dead white males. Living white men came next at 11.3%, followed by living white women (3.8%). Living global majority men made up 2.2% of the toal, with living global majority women at just 1.7%.

The top 10 most played composers – all dead white European men: Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvořák, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Dmitri Shostakovich, Jean Sibelius, and Maurice Ravel – account for 27.5% of all compositions performed.

Mark Pemberton OBE, former Chief Executive of the Association of British Orchestras, told Arts Professional that orchestras are in a difficult position when it comes to getting the right balance between historical compositions and contemporary works.

He said: “They have to preserve a canon that stretches back 500 years while also giving a platform to the composers of today. And that historical canon is dominated by men.

“In turn, audiences expect to hear the works that they love, from Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, to more recent works by James Macmillan or Peter Maxwell Davies.”

He added that financial concerns also influence what orchestras perform, with the traditional repertoire “more likely to help fill the hall, all the more crucial when the classical music industry is still struggling with the financial impact of the pandemic”.

Change is, however, both needed and inevitable, said Pemberton: “It’s a journey that orchestras and their audiences are going to have to go on if they are to retain relevance in a highly competitive marketplace for arts and entertainment.

"And it will take time to shift traditional attitudes towards what constitutes popular programming choices. But the sector is up to the challenge.” 

For Donne founder Gabriella Di Laccio, things need to move much more quickly: “With so many resources available [to orchestras], it is difficult to understand why change remains so slow.”