An Examination of Orchestras and Repertoire Performed at the Midwest Clinic From 1990 Through 2019 highlighted data of the invited orchestras and their selected repertoire. 261 orchestras were studied. The majority of orchestras were from the United States and primarily consisted of high school musicians. The most performed works were composed by Antonin Dvořák, Pytotr Tchaikovsky, and Brian Balmages. The most performed arrangers were Richard Meyer and Sandra Dackow. “Female composers and arrangers were vastly underrepresented compared with males and a majority of performed pieces conformed to the Western European music tradition” (Zabanal, 2021, p.29).

Zabanal found a disconnection between gender and cultural inequality among students performing in the orchestras and the selected music repertoire. “Researchers have found that the number of non-white high school students enrolled in music classes in the United States increased from approximately 33% (Elpus & Abril, 2011) to nearly 40% (Elpus & Abril, 2019), and nearly a half of students enrolled in orchestra programs were non-white and non-Hispanic (Smith, Mick, & Alexander, 2018)” (Zabanal, 2021, p. 39). Although the number of female composers were represented more frequently, they were still overwhelmingly outnumbered by male composers. Roughly 60% of students enrolled in high school music programs and youth orchestras are female. Both gender and cultural data are not representative of the selected repertoire performed at the Midwest Clinic.

Zabanal offers the following implications for music teaching and learning:
· Educators should perform repertoire that includes non-Western music traditions and was written by composers and arrangers of underrepresented populations
· Orchestra teachers from underrepresented NAfME regions should consider submitting an application to perform at the Midwest Clinic.

What would be the antithesis of a traditional Western European music performance within a Western European music performance ensemble? I would argue that it is not possible to separate the heritage/Western European tradition from orchestra practice, nor should that be the goal. Some ways to diversify orchestra practice might be a) add repertoire variety; b) educate members/performers/audience about varied musical experiences; c) celebrate new experiences and musical pieces; d) invite guest artists and clinicians to share new works; and e) have impactful conversations about how familiar or unfamiliar musical experiences are.