Anti-Racism Music Resources
This spreadsheet is a repository of examples by composers of color for use in the music theory and aural skills curriculum. Examples are organized by topic.
The Art Song, Choral, Orchestra, and Wind Band Databases allow users to search for individual compositions with numerous search filters by composers from underrepresented groups. Filters include various ensemble genres, duration, and grade level, as well as composer demographics and location. This website also has a Composer Diversity Database which is a resource for the musical community through which composers from underrepresented groups can be discovered.
This website includes a bibliography and assignments for teaching the history of early music more inclusively.
A spreadsheet with a working list of non-idiomatic choral music by black composers.
Beyond Elijah Rock: The Non-Idiomatic Choral Music of Black Composers
A resource for voice teachers and students who want to include Latin American songs in their repertoire (vocal works with piano accompaniments are listed).
This is a repertoire directory that organizes music by Black composers by select instruments. It is designed for performers, conductors, programmers, teachers, researchers and students.
This website lists other databases and websites geared toward helping people create more diverse and inclusive concert programming.
A resource for pianists, pedagogues, and others to explore piano repertoire by underrepresented composers. It includes a database for searching for music by difficulty level, year, and other identifiers.
A working list of pieces for strings by Black Indigenous Musicians of Color.
A spreadsheet with commonly taught songs that have racist/inappropriate histories. The spreadsheet includes the song, a source for the racist/inappropriate history, the usual educational objective or category for teaching that song, and an alternative song without racist/inappropriate history (including a resource for the alternative song)
Searchable access to recorded track information for concert Negro Spiritual settings performed by solo Classical vocalists. Additionally, the site offers a number of historical, biographical and bibliographical resources related to this African American music style. There are also links to images, videos, and artistic creations inspired by the Negro Spiritual.
Spreadsheet with pieces for wind band ensemble organized by women composers, composers of color, and LGBTQIA+ composers.
Select Anti-Racist Music Pedagogy Sources
This page lists readings with the goal of providing those who teach Western music in higher education a starting point for using equity-based and antiracist approaches and perspectives in the classroom and studio. Many of these readings fall into one (or more) of the following categories: 1) antiracist critiques of music in higher education, detailing recent and ongoing discussions with music academia on antiracist reforms, specifically regarding curricula, 2) examples of and tools for developing antiracist syllabi and lesson plans, or 3) content-specific background to aid in designing lesson plans.
Note: This is a living, work-in-progress document. It is not complete by any stretch of the imagination. If you have a reading/resource that you would like to add, please send it to one (or more) of the DEI officers.
Links to DEI Resources at Societies and Other Universities
- Columbia University, Department of Music, Pedagogical Resources for Antiracist Teaching
- Eastman School of Music, Anti-racism in the Classroom
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Anti-Racism Music Resources
- Diversity in Music Theory (from the Society of Music Theory’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity)