Page 50 - APAP - Inside Arts - Conference 2020

SUSAN DADIAN
Program Director
CMA Classical/Contemporary Chamber Music America
There are many questions that
are pressing in the classical
music community right now. Of these, I think that sustainability
is a concern. The marketplace is crowded, especially with highly talented musicians who are graduating from schools of music and the prospects for employment are not keeping pace. For this reason, musicians need to have entrepreneurial skills beyond their art form that will help them chart their own career path.
JEAN COOK
Artist
How do we preserve the rigor, depth, insight and joy that the classical tradition has to offer, while simultaneously challenging its elitist structure and history? This has been a theme for the committee for a while, so I think it’s one of the pressing issues of the field. Classical music is often presented with these
Brandon Ridenour
My advice for the field is:
The audience comes first! Engaging one’s community (in the community) and choosing programing that will speak to and challenge them are key. Being an
arts citizen and having a presence with local partners will show one’s investment in the town or locale
in which they are located. Making local connections – people to people – is the most crucial.
FAVORITE COMPOSER: I have worked at CMA for 17+ years, and I continue to discover new composers and experience creativity on a daily basis. I would be hard-pressed to identify a favorite composer. Plus, with a rich and varied musical history, I have favorites in all eras of classical music. I wouldn’t know where to begin!
deeply alienating trappings: There is a right way and a wrong way to experience the music, that it's a rich person's social scene, that women and black and brown people don't truly belong, that abusive stars are protected and not held accountable to their communities. These trappings are not what is important
and enduring about the music, and it's never been clearer how much they are holding back the field.
In terms of the field and advice, I think about how the equity and power conversation is so difficult. You see inequity, but maybe you can't put your finger on exactly how to make a difference. Most inequity problems in classical music are deeply structural, and it feels much bigger than what a single person
or a committee such as CCC can address. But important change
can be made on the individual level, and a great place to start is recognizing our own biases.
Unconscious bias is a real thing. Structural bias is a real thing. Everyone struggles with it, and bias is extremely powerful. Do
you find yourself in conversations worrying that assault victims are attention seekers, or wondering how long a predatory genius needs to be benched before they can be celebrated again? Do you think a composer might feel too jazzy to be on a classical series because they're black and play saxophone? Do you
48 INSIDE ARTS CONFERENCE 2020