Black Musicians and Classical Music

In this era of the “first black president,” I am reminded of all the “first black” moments I have witnessed and blacks I have known who are leaders in their own fields who were firsts. I am the “first black woman” musician hired in the Cleveland Orchestra, which seems to represent progress and opportunity to others. To me, I am just a musician, like many other successful musicians of other ethnicities, who practiced well, received good training, and made the right professional connections that eventually lead to my winning a job in the Cleveland Orchestra.

The Baltimore Sun had a good article December 7, 2008 about the seeming scarcity of blacks in classical music called A Solitary Stage, and my colleague, cellist Troy Stuart is interviewed. He is a fabulous musician and a wonderful teacher who’s life journey has been an inspiration to me.

There seems to be an assumption that classical music is not part of the “black” experience. Generalizing is usually a bad idea anyway, and I have met plenty of well-to-do people of European decent (white) who have no understanding or appreciation of classical music. Instead of making it an issue of race, I would make it an issue of accessibility. Most of my students at the Cleveland School of the Arts Lower Campus are black and poor, but they go to class knowing I expect them to learn, play in tune with a good sound, straight bow and good posture. They also eagerly go to class and expect to learn. Appreciation of an art form is not tied to skin color.

Classical music, like any other genre of the fine arts, requires a community for success. That community can be as small as one teacher and one parent. In my unscientific opinion, what makes one successful is a mixture of five things:
1. a supportive parent/s or individual/s who pays for and takes a child to lessons, music festivals, and helps them practice

2. good training from the beginning

3. disciplined student

4. positive professional network

5. talent