"Re-sounding the Orchestra", the research report commissioned by Orchestras Canada and co-authored by Soraya Peerbaye and myself has been officially released today.
The report is based on 16 months of research, including interviews and roundtables with more than 40 people across Canada, including orchestra directors, administrators, Indigenous musical creators, and orchestral musicians of colour. It opens the door to grappling with issues that are of critical importance to all sectors of Canadian society, but that have--until now--remained un- or under-examined in our orchestras.
Re-sounding the Orchestra was inspired by Orchestras Canada's 2017 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Declaration. Given the limitations of time, funding and page limitations, the reporting is not exhaustive. We did not have the space to talk about access, ableism and ageism as they relate to our orchestras. We hope, though, that our focus on Indigenous artists and people of colour working with and in Canadian orchestras will enrich and enhance the conversations that Canadian orchestras have about their place in national, local and international conversations on meaningful equity and public accessibility.