60 MINUTES: What musicians did after an executive order on DEI led to the cancellation of U.S. Marine Band collaboration

Equity Arc is a national coalition of musical organizations and advocates whose mission and programming address the structural inequities in classical music that result in the field’s systemic lack of racial and ethnic diversity. Equity Arc creates and works with a robust network of passionate, experienced members from across the country and across the arc of musical development along two paths: Building a comprehensive arc of support and mentorship for instrumentalists to navigate the journey from student to professional and assisting in breaking down barriers to achieving success in the field. Equity Arc also provides forums, resources, and training for member organizations to dismantle the structural inequities, biases, and systemic racism ingrained in their policies and practices that inhibit the creation of equitable opportunities and environments for classical musicians of color.

In 2023, Equity Arc developed the National Pathways Collective, an initiative that provides a nucleus for Pathways Programs across the United States. Pathways Programs offer free, intensive musical training and mentorship that prepares pre-college musicians of color to enter prestigious collegiate music institutions. The National Pathways Festival is an annual opportunity for select fellows in the National Pathways Collective to convene in a central location for a multi-day musical intensive, working alongside professional orchestral musicians and forming the National Pathways Festival Orchestra.