Creating Systemic Change

Equity Arc’s membership is built of passionate supporters of our mission across the broad spectrum of classical music.

Through collaboration with the robust network of our members who provide programs and opportunities along all stages of the developmental bridge, we can ensure that aspiring BIPOC musicians are supported throughout their musical journey and that equity, inclusion, and diversity are embedded in the future of our field.

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“As students graduate from programs like ours and continue their musical training in college and beyond, Equity Arc’s work of affecting systemic change in the organizations and institutions across the field will be desperately needed.”

Adrienne Thompson,Vice President for Enrollment & Student Services, Merit School of Music

Current Members

Individual Members

Karen and Mark Belding
Abra Bush*
Addison Ellis-Otovo
Aidyn Ellis-Otovo
Evelyn Eskin
Susan Feder
Jeiran Hasan
Io Hernandez
Javier Irizarry
Sibylle Johner*
Matthew Koveal*
Michael Angell*
Jenny Snyder Kozoroz*
Solomon Leonard
Talia Pavia
Diego Turner
Maya Uchino-Garcia
Jim Walker
Wren Williams
Eytan Wurman

* Founding member

Location
Arc Stage
Active Program, Founding Member

Astral is a nonprofit intensive mentoring program that focuses on developing the early careers of extraordinary classical musicians. Since its founding in 1992, Astral has specialized in identifying high-caliber and independent-thinking musicians with the potential to be artistic leaders, building the future of classical music.

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Active Program

As one of the longest-running, year-round musical education diversity programs, the Talent Development Program (TDP) provides 25 young Black/ African American and Hispanic/ Latinx musicians with the highest level of musical training each school year. More than 100 TDP Fellows have gone on to attend top music schools and conservatories across the country. This strong education foundation has led to careers in orchestra, teaching and performance. With the vision of seeing the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra reflect the diversity of the Atlanta community, the Talent Development Program’s purpose is to identify and support talented fellows who are members of those populations currently underrepresented in the field of classical music. The ultimate mission of the program is to develop musically gifted and motivated music students for acceptance into top-tier conservatory, college or university music programs in preparation for careers as professional musicians.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Music, like all art, engages the mind and the heart. Bard College Conservatory of Music’s mission is to provide the best possible preparation for those dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music. The Bard Conservatory offers unparalleled musical opportunities for its students in a just, inclusive, and diverse community.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Brevard Music Center stands as one of this country’s premier summer training programs and festivals. In a rigorous and empowering program of instruction and professional performance, students and faculty create a powerful sense of community. Passion, commitment, and excellence are signatures of Brevard’s summer programs.

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Active Program

The Cali School of Music at Montclair State University aims to create dynamic and comprehensive pathways to higher education and careers in music for talented student musicians from underrepresented backgrounds. The Cali Pathways Project is determined to overcome the barriers that can prevent underserved students from realizing their full musical potential, allowing them to pursue a career in music if they so choose. By providing a suitable instrument, access to high-level instruction, extra-curricular opportunities, and more, all at no cost – students from underserved backgrounds will benefit from the mentorship of Cali School faculty & alumni to receive all that the School of Music has to offer. Starting in their freshman year of high school, access to these resources and instruction will prepare students for the demands of higher education, with the hope that the Pathways Project can serve to cultivate a diverse student cohort for the Cali School of Music.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Born out of the desire to foster cultural curiosity, Castle of our Skins is a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. From classrooms to concert halls, Castle of our Skins invites exploration into ​Black heritage and culture, spotlighting both unsung and celebrated ​figures of past and present.

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Active Program

The nation’s fourth oldest chamber music presenter, Chamber Music Cincinnati features the finest international chamber music ensembles and soloists—both established and emerging—to build current and future chamber music audiences and artists. For more than a decade, Black and Brown artists have been represented in their series. During the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, all of their guest U.S. ensembles have had at least one Black or Brown member and performed at least one work by a Black or Brown composer.

All of their visiting artists coach students in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra-sponsored Nouveau and Diversity Fellows programs for pre-college and conservatory music students of color. They also work with students at public schools that have both robust and under-funded music programs. CMC presents educational programs to help people of all backgrounds appreciate the contribution of Black composers and instrumentalists past and present.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative identifies and develops gifted and motivated orchestral students from underrepresented backgrounds for acceptance into top-tier conservatory, college, or university classical music programs in preparation for careers as professional musicians. Musicians are provided with comprehensive supports to succeed.

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Active Program, Founding Member

One of America’s finest and most versatile ensembles, the internationally acclaimed CSO attracts the best musicians, artists and conductors to Cincinnati. The CSO is passionately committed to music education and to building meaningful diversity and inclusion in the field. The CSO serves as NIMAN’s Incubator Organization.

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Active Program, Founding Member

One of the premier conservatories in the country, The Cleveland Institute of Music believes a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment leads to excellence in educating musicians and accomplishing the CIM mission and vision. The Institute’s diverse talent tapestry uniquely positions CIM as the future of classical music.

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Active Program, Founding Member

The Colburn School’s all-scholarship model attracts the highest level of talent from around the world. It is home to many programs that seek to address systemic access barriers to world-class musical training and provides students equitable opportunities to develop excellence on their instrument.

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Active Program

The Columbus Symphony Academy is an intensive musical training program designed for serious and passionate student musicians in grades 7-12 who identify as part of the Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) community and have the desire to pursue music at the highest level. The Academy will provide these young musicians with the essential musical experiences that will prepare them for success in a professional performance career in classical music.

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Active Program

The Houston Symphony is a full-time orchestra that presents a full complement of concert, community, education, touring, and recording activities. It has an operating budget of $34.325 million and offers more than 130 concerts annually. Launched in Fall 2022, DeLUXE Kids in Harmony with the Houston Symphony, in partnership with AFA is an intensive after-school program that provides music education without barriers and social development for 3rd-5th grade students. It is a community-based program, based in the Fifth Ward Cultural Arts District/DeLUXE Theater. The students receive a minimum of 4 ½ hours of instruction each week, led by a Symphony Community-Embedded Musician and supported by other Symphony musicians and AFA teaching artists. Students attend Symphony concerts and perform monthly in the Fifth Ward and the Symphony’s home, Jones Hall. The vision of the program is to build a community of compassionate youth who know who they are, know where they came from, can envision themselves on any stage in the world, and are prepared to be on those stages. The initiative exposes students to a wide range of stages, performances, and performers while also guiding students in the discipline of performance preparation and the magic of performing.

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Active Program, Founding Member

INTEMPO offers children the opportunity to express themselves artistically through traditional and classical music . We are committed to connecting the dots between intercultural music education and its influence on the socioemotional and intellectual development of children. We offer a repertoire that reflects the diversity of our students’ cultures and communities.

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Active Program, Founding Member

A global destination for artists and arts enthusiasts, Interlochen Center for the Arts nurtures creativity through five dynamic platforms. Since 1928, Interlochen’s mission to inspire people worldwide through excellence in the arts and education has produced generations of purposeful creative lives. At Interlochen, we are united through the universal language of the arts.

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Active Program

Founded in 1981, Javacya Arts Conservatory (JAC) is a college preparatory institute for ages 3 to 18. A leading advocate for diversity and inclusion in the performing arts in the States and abroad, JAC provides life developing opportunities through formal training and discipline through music. Javacya exists to provide a safe space for BIPOC students to take advantage of quality music education.

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Active Program

Levine Music, the Washington DC region’s preeminent center for music education, is a welcoming community where children and adults find lifelong inspiration and joy through learning, performing, listening to, and participating with others in music. Levine’s core values – excellence and opportunity – infuse everything we do. Their distinguished faculty offer a broad and well-rounded curriculum that provides a strong musical foundation for students of different ages, abilities, and interests. Levine Music strives to make their education available to everyone. Hundreds of students receive substantial scholarship assistance; many hundreds more receive free instruction through fully-funded in-school programs.

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Active Program

Luzerne Music Center aims to provide world-class music instruction to gifted young musicians in a summer camp environment, regardless of their financial circumstances. Luzerne values courage, resiliency, empathy, compassion, teamwork,  kindness, and diversity. Luzerne believes in supporting and uplifting others.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Merit students, who reflect the socioeconomic and ethnic diversity of Chicago, have the rare opportunity to learn together, teach each other, experience the transformative power of music, and broaden their horizons as they grow and build inspiring lives through music. Virtually 100 percent of our graduates go on to conservatory or college.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Miami Music Project uses music as an instrument for social transformation, empowering children to achieve their full potential. Emerging as a model for music education programs nationally, Miami Music Project offers free of charge, after-school programming to all students with no barriers to entry, regardless of race or economic status.

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Active Program

The Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando initiative is an intensive music education program designed to prepare gifted young students of diverse ethnic backgrounds for pursuing music at the collegiate level and beyond. Accelerando seeks to create professional opportunities for musicians from ethnic communities underrepresented in today’s orchestras by providing them with instruction, mentorship, performance experiences and assistance with applying to music schools. With access to the resources of a major American orchestra, these students will be able to realize their full potential and will form the next generation of orchestra musicians.

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Active Program, Founding Member

The University of Maryland’s National Orchestral Institute + Festival brings together aspiring orchestral musicians from across the country for a month of dynamic music-making and professional exploration at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and in the College Park, MD community. Through a partnership with Naxos records, the NOI+F Orchestra recorded an album of American music that was released in more than 40 countries worldwide and earned a Grammy nomination.

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Supporting Organization

The National Repertory Orchestra is a preeminent intensive summer music festival developing diverse, thoughtful and socially conscious musicians through experiential learning.

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Active Program

New England Conservatory (NEC) an independent, not-for-profit institution, is recognized internationally as a leader among music schools, educating and training musicians of all ages from around the world. With music students representing more than 40 countries, NEC cultivates a diverse, dynamic community for students, providing them with performance opportunities and high-caliber training by 225 internationally-esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC pushes the boundaries of making and teaching music through college-level musical training in classical, jazz and Contemporary Improvisation.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Founded in 1865 and situated amid the intellectual and creative vitality of Oberlin College, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in America and the only major music school dedicated primarily to the education of undergraduate musicians. Oberlin opens a world of possibilities: mentorship from esteemed faculty, exposure to transformative programs and visiting artists, and countless opportunities to perform.

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Active Program

The PMAY Artists’ Initiative supports 5th-12th graders from communities that are underrepresented on the symphony orchestra stage and those who encounter hardships to realize their musical potential and ultimately pursue their dream of becoming professional classical musicians. The PMAY Artists’ Initiative’s long term goal is to increase diversity in America’s professional musical landscape, promoting equity, vibrancy, and sustainability.

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Active Program, Founding Member

Founded in 2011 by Stanford Thompson and Carole Haas Gravagno, Play On Philly (POP) provides children from underserved communities in Philadelphia a transformative music education experience that develops and inspires the behaviors and personal skills needed for a successful life. Our tuition-free, intensive program is a vehicle for both healthy self-expression and achievement, and social and academic development. We strive to engage the entire community, in Philadelphia and beyond.

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Active Program

As Philadelphia’s premier merit-based program for financially challenged young, aspiring musicians, the Primavera Fund provides individualized, focused support, resources, mentoring, and access to the best educational opportunities in Philadelphia and beyond. The Directors and staff work closely with every Primavera Artist’s parents, private instructors, youth orchestra, summer camp, and chamber music directors to make sure that students are afforded every opportunity for growth.

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Active Program

Project STEP (String Training Education Program) recognizes that certain racial and ethnic minorities are vastly underrepresented in classical music. Their mission is to address this imbalance by identifying musically talented underrepresented students from Boston and surrounding communities, providing them with comprehensive music and string instrument instruction. Proeject STEP sets the highest standards for disciplined study and performance, and offer a platform for students interested in pursuing classical music careers as well as other courses of study.

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Active Program

Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music cultivates the mastery of musical performance, combining a conservatory experience with the educational opportunities of a leading research university. Guided by the belief that talent manifests along unique paths, we limit our student body to 290 uniquely gifted young musicians.

Shepherd gives each music major access to world class teachers—all accomplished artists in their own right—dedicated to cultivating talent and professional success. Their faculty is known for their individualized instruction and for equipping musicians with the skills and experience necessary to develop their own esteemed careers.”

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Supporting Organization

Todd Rundgren’s Spirit of Harmony is a national organization that advocates for music education for children, particularly in public schools. Its mission is to work with individual music programs to assist them in building a sustainable network of local support, based on the measurable data that makes the case for the importance of music education in the neurological, social, academic, economic, and of course artistic, development of youth.

Spirit of Harmony forges meaningful partnerships among music programs, school districts, corporations, and other music education non-profits, engaging supporters and music fans to become involved in working with music education programs nationally and in their communities. They believe in providing opportunities for personal development and self-expression through music, regardless of socioeconomic status, geographic location, or ability. Working in harmony with their partners and stakeholders, Spirit of Harmony’s goal is to develop and nurture strategic relationships that enhance the success of all.

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Supporting Organization

The Cleveland Orchestra inspires and enriches lives by creating extraordinary musical experiences at the highest level of artistic excellence.

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Supporting Organization

The Gainesville Orchestra’s mission to entertain, enrich and educate a diverse and broad-based audience through the presentation of quality programs in traditional and contemporary repertoire is as pertinent today as it was in their first season, 35+ years ago. The orchestra possesses a history of collaboration with local businesses, organizations and arts groups in the presentation of events, including the Historic Haile Homestead, Habitat for Humanity, Florida Museum of Natural History, Harn Museum, Hippodrome State Theater, Dance Alive!, Alachua County School Board, Santa Fe College (formerly Community College) and First Presbyterian Church. In 1989 GCO made a commitment to education by creating the Youth Concert Series, resulting in a Family Concert as part of the regular concert season with an additional special performance of this concert at the University of Florida’s Phillips Center for Performing Arts for the schoolchildren of Alachua County and surrounding counties.

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Active Program, Founding Member

The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University comprises both the degree-granting Peabody Conservatory and the community-facing Peabody Preparatory, empowering musicians and dancers from diverse backgrounds to create and perform at the highest level. Building on its rich history as America’s first conservatory, Peabody extends the power of the performing arts and robust artistic training throughout the greater Baltimore community and around the world.

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Supporting Organization

The Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a vibrant arts program within the liberal arts university. The Department teaches, creates, and imparts through performance and study the richness and breadth of musical creation and scholarship. A community of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff, UNC is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment.

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Active Program

Washington Musical Pathways Initiative is a talent development program for local student musicians in grades 8-12 who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color and want to pursue advanced study in music. Program elements are tailored to meet students’ needs to better prepare them for study at music conservatories or as music majors at four-year colleges and universities with the goal that it lead them to professional opportunities within classical music. WMPI provides musical and extra-musical supports (financial, instructional, academic, family, social-emotional, etc.) to support talented young musicians who have been historically excluded from classical music due to systemic racism.

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Active Program

YOSA Rising Star Fellows is a unique program that provides intensive support to promising young Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native American musicians residing within 50 miles of San Antonio, TX. The program’s goals are to establish a collaborative system that supports and advances musical excellence for young classical instrumental musicians of color, to develop and prepare young classical instrumental musicians of color to compete for acceptance to top music conservatories and university music programs, to diversify the talent pipeline for post-secondary classical instrumental music programs, and to create a more diverse musical community in San Antonio and nationwide.

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