Hi, everyone. I am wondering if anyone knows of a recent violin audition list which includes an excerpt from a piece by a Black, Latinx, and/or female composer?
In our orchestra, efforts to include works by POC, female, and LGBTQIA composers in auditions often face a significant hurdle: obtaining permission to use modern, copyrighted pieces. Without rights clearance, which frequently comes with fees, management tends to default to public domain works to avoid extra costs.
While the lack of diversity in audition repertoire is a valid concern, this issue often stems from logistical and financial challenges rather than deliberate exclusion. A potential solution is to identify diverse works already in the public domain, bypassing copyright restrictions altogether.
I'm not sure if NACO has had any violin auditions lately, but i wouldn't be surprised if they had a work on there by a female composer. On several auditions they've been asking for a few modern day excerpts.
Thank you! Weirdly they have it listed as “Coleridge-Taylor” instead of “Perkinson” though all the other composers are last name only. Maybe mistaken for Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, but at any rate, good reference! And Minnesota has Ulysses Kay so thank you.
New Haven Symphony had an excerpt from Jesse Montgomery's "Starburst" this year
In our orchestra, efforts to include works by POC, female, and LGBTQIA composers in auditions often face a significant hurdle: obtaining permission to use modern, copyrighted pieces. Without rights clearance, which frequently comes with fees, management tends to default to public domain works to avoid extra costs.
While the lack of diversity in audition repertoire is a valid concern, this issue often stems from logistical and financial challenges rather than deliberate exclusion. A potential solution is to identify diverse works already in the public domain, bypassing copyright restrictions altogether.
I'm not sure if NACO has had any violin auditions lately, but i wouldn't be surprised if they had a work on there by a female composer. On several auditions they've been asking for a few modern day excerpts.
I think Minnesota and Milwaukee? Milwaukee had an excerpt from Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson Sinfonietta