Looking for other ways to learn about diverse voices in music?
Visit and support these other projects promoting representation in music programming!
CHORAL/VOCAL
A searchable spreadsheet developed by choral conductor Marques L. A. Garrett that includes references to non-idiomatic original concert works for choir and voice by Black composers (i.e. music outside the realm of spirituals, gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and rap among others).
ORCHESTRAL/STRING
Founded by violinist Rachel Barton Pine, this organization seeks to bring awareness to the classical literature of Black composers and to inspire Black students to engage in the classical music landscape. The Living Composer Directory resource is an especially valuable tool for those looking to program diverse voices.
WIND BAND/CHORAL
Organized by Brian Messier, the Mexican Repertoire Initiative at Dartmouth increases exposure and representation of Mexican composers by commissioning and facilitating the creation of new works, releasing albums of Mexican repertoire with Urtext Digital Classics, and advocating for the inclusion of Mexican works on Prescribed Music Lists.
ORCHESTRAL/STRING
Founded by conductor Anna Edwards, Anna’s Composer Database is a curated list of composers and compositions that help music organizations create interesting and diverse programs for concert performance.
CHORAL/VOCAL
Multitude of Voyces is a UK-based non-profit organization founded by Louise Stewart with the purpose of publishing volumes of historic sacred choral music by women as well as commissioning hymns from contemporary diverse composers.
ORCHESTRAL
Created by Patrick Reynolds, David Tedford, and Chaowen Ting, ADORE focuses on broadening and bringing greater diversity to the repertoire of smaller orchestra programs. Peruse info and program notes for full, string, and chamber orchestra works by diverse composers.
MIXED
Lisa Oman, of San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, runs this commissioning program designed to facilitate collaborative music commission opportunities for high school ensembles and American composers. Check out their past project and see how you can get involved by submitting an inquiry form.
WIND BAND
Composer Alex Shapiro has amassed a large collection of articles, organizations, YouTube playlists, links, and “action points for diversity, equality, and inclusion” on her website. Ms. Shapiro is constantly updating based on crowd-sourced feedback so check back often!
CHAMBER
Founded by Carrie Blosser and Ashley Killam, DTS’s mission is to Diversify the Music Stand by listening, learning, and promoting diverse musical voices. Check out their commission projects, join their book club, and subscribe to their podcast.
SOLO/CHAMBER (MIXED)
Created by violinist, Emelyn Bashour, the Philomel Project is a free database of solo and chamber works by women composers, searchable by type, instrumentation, language, and more.
MIXED
Founded by Gloria Yin, Joe Lerangis, and Rhianna Cockrell, New Muses includes an algorithmic database that recommends the music of historically marginalized composers based on your musical taste. The organization is also working to develop quality recordings and transcriptions of the historical works they uncover.
MIXED
Founded by Allyssa Jones, Rising Tide is a “no-profit” publisher of music for orchestral, wind band, and choral ensembles as well as chamber and solo works by BBIA (Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian) composers within the first ten years of their professional career. Check out their online catalog as well as their Emerging Composer Competition.
WIND BAND
Created by Nikk Pilato (Associate Director of Bands at Indiana State), this is a comprehensive and crowd-sourced wiki of repertoire for the wind band. Scroll to the bottom of the homepage to find composer category filters including female composers, African American composers, and composers of international origins.
WIND BAND
A resource curated by composer Jodie Blackshaw from the minds of world-renowned conductors and composers. This site provides an interactive assortment of concert programs for wind bands of all capability levels that are FULL of a diverse range of composers from around the globe.
CHORAL/VOCAL
A Great Host of Composers, coordinated by Susan Jane Matthews, includes a curated database of sacred choral music and voluntaries by women composers as well as articles and research on the subject.
WIND BAND
Created by composer Jodie Blackshaw of New South Wales, AU, this database focuses on band literature at grade levels 1-4 by female composers. An easy-to-use submission tool means this list is constantly updated with user suggestions.
WIND BAND
Composer Brent Michael Davids of the Stockbridge Munsee Community offers several original works for band based on his experiences and heritage as a Native American musician. Check out his resource page for educational lessons to facilitate deeper understanding from your ensemble.
Founded by music educator, Brandi Waller-Pace, Decolonizing the Music Room is a nonprofit organization using research, training, and discourse to help music educators develop critical practices and challenge the established dominance of white Western European and white American music, practices, and narratives.
A New York City-based program designed to support local schools by providing performances, instruction, and professional development in multicultural music as a tool to promote global understanding, cultural awareness, and academic achievement. Visit their site to learn more and browse their publications!
A $3,500 scholarship for high school seniors moving into college composition programs. The scholarship is uniquely targeted to female-identifying composition students and composition students of color. Recipients are selected by a diverse panel of professional musicians.
This antiracist music theory webpage houses public domain scores by composers of color. Analytical notes are being made available, while a Google Sheet summarizes music theory topics that can be taught using the repertoire. This site will be continually updated with more resources for music theory instructors.
Created by Paula Maust, this site contains musical excerpts intended for use in the undergraduate Western tonal music theory core curriculum. Each theoretical concept is illustrated in a series of examples by women and BIPoC composers.
Created by Molly Murdock and Ben Parsell, the website contains music and music theory examples by women organized by composer and pedagogical concept as well as examples categorized by musical era. The site also hosts a blog, resource page, and a shop that includes their popular female composer poster series.
Links to articles that explore the importance of diverse programming including editorials, implementation methods, profiles of composers and programs, studies, and other topics.
MIXED
IAWM was formed in 1995 and is currently headed by president Carrie Leigh Page. The organization is dedicated to fostering and encouraging the activities of women in music, particularly in the areas of musical activity such as composing, performing, and research in which gender discrimination is an historic and ongoing concern.
MIXED
The Cayambis Institute for Latin American Studies in Music is a comprehensive organization designed to showcase the work of Latin American composers through composition competitions, publishing, and performance and education opportunities for ensembles and music organizations.
MIXED
Created by Dr. Rob Deemer (Associate Professor of Composition at SUNY Fredonia), this organization provides conductors, performers, presenters, educators, and researchers a tool with which to expand and broaden their scope of composers and repertoire.
CHORAL/VOCAL
Created by Logan Contreras, Kassia Database is a resource for singers, teachers, performers, and the supporters of art song by women composers. The database includes songs from the Baroque period through the 21st century, categorized by level, voice type, language, composer, and composer dates.
MIXED
The Daffodil Perspective is a classical music podcast produced by Elizabeth de Brito. Each episode includes a thematic curation of historic and contemporary works by composers that is gender balanced, racially equitable, and inclusive.
SOLO/CHAMBER
Composer Kathryn Woodard established this organization that explores and promotes cross-cultural exchange through music. By offering ready-to-play sheet music of Turkish origins and educational materials on the genre, Sonic Crossroads seeks to foster the inclusion of this genre into more Western music performances.
MIXED
Started by Joy-Leilani Garbutt and Laura Colgate, the Boulanger Initiative seeks to promote music composed by women through concert series performances, educational lectures and publications, and commissioning projects.
MIXED
Listening to Ladies is a podcast produced by composer Elisabeth Blair. Episodes feature excerpts from interviews with femme composers, interwoven with samples of their work. Each interview covers two main themes: the composer's experience of being a woman in this field, and the composer's music & aesthetics.
Let us know about other resources for diversity in music to add to this page by filling out THIS FORM!