Representation In Repertoire: Addressing Racial Diversity Within Post-Secondary Clarinet Studios

This study examines the role of standard repertoire in contemporary clarinet pedagogy and its potential impact on racial diversity and representation in postsecondary clarinet studios. For this study, I surveyed 145 clarinet students from postsecondary clarinet programs at accredited American institutions to collect data regarding their experiences. Using those data along with data from the National Association for Schools of Music (NASM) Higher Education Arts Data Services (HEADS) and U.S. Census, I demonstrate the lack of racial diversity among enrolled clarinet students and clarinet faculty at postsecondary institutions. I argue that the canon of repertoire used in classical clarinet pedagogy factors into the lack of racial representation found in academic clarinet programs. I engage with tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the role of representation in faculty and repertoire in relation to diversity among clarinet students. Finally, I argue that by widening the canon of repertoire to include musics from racially diverse composers, college music professors can disrupt the cycle of racial exclusion found in classical music education in the United States.