*Please note that this article is in-progress and will have mistakes as well as two different citation styles.
Abstract
In this article I apply the notion of ‘constructive ambiguity’ to the EDI statements of several western European Classical music organisations and ensembles. I analyse how constructive ambiguity can be and is used to avoid accountability and true meaningful investment in historically marginalised communities and artists. The organisations include the LA Phil, Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, DECCA Records, Odradek Records, Slippedisc, NewMusicUSA, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Oakland East Bay Symphony, Chineke! Orchestra, and NMC Recordings. In the end I argue for the need to have concrete and meaningful goals in the long-term investment of historically marginalised artists and their communities.
Introduction
The term ‘constructive ambiguity’ is one generally attributed to the former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.[1] It is a deliberate and tactical method of negotiating often what are considered to be difficult and irreconcilable differences between nations. Michael Byers, Drazen Pehar, and others have studied the use of constructive ambiguity in international law, UN Security Council Resolutions, and peace agreements around the world from the 20th and 21st centuries.[2] The same scholars have critiqued constructive ambiguity in several case studies from the past 50 years where the issues at hand were either amplified by the negotiating tactic or the issues were thrown under the rug—only to resurface later often in more violent and traumatic ways. Despite the negotiations in these cases being unsuccessful, as the negotiator, the US was able to move forward its agenda because of the ordered chaos it created. The tactic is not known as a method to effectively resolve international issues between countries. For example, the US has destabilized whole continents with a foreign policy rooted in constructive ambiguity while remaining a tenuous economic and military ally to forward its own political and economic agenda.[3] Throughout Henry Kissinger’s time as US Secretary of State, he supported coups in Chile and Argentina, helped to destabilize relations between Middle Eastern countries, and supported the US’ involvement in the Vietnam war. He believed that for the US to remain a global superpower it would need to continually and strategically cause ordered chaos to distract and prevent other countries from achieving global dominance.[4] The US gains power through constructive ambiguity by creating and supporting various conflicts around the world and then situating itself as a chief negotiator. This tactic is only constructive for the negotiator and destructive for those in any given conflict. This gives the US the ability to create a false narrative about its intentions while being the puppet master.
Constructive ambiguity remains the preferred choice in US foreign policy in the 21st century[5] and there are many correlations between it and how the western European classical music (WECM) industry has attempted to tackle its colonial, diversity, and equity issues. Many organisations in WECM will create narratives of change and acceptance publicly but continue to fail in who their hire and or program. I argue that ambiguous EDI statements help to support the colonial, white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal echo chamber organisations and ensembles have created throughout the past few decades. While organisations may spend money on creating EDI offices (usually led by a white person), flashy social media narratives, and using BIPOC people in their marketing, the long-term and meaningful support of marginalised artists has yet to happen despite years of promises and excuses from a majority of institutions.
This article will analyse EDI mission statements from orchestras, recording labels, and other arts organizations in the UK and US to better understand how constructive ambiguity is embedded in them and how it’s used to continue the white agenda.[6] It must be reiterated that this tactic is only constructive for the negotiator and only destructive for the two sides attempting to resolve a conflict. Constructive ambiguity may be used both consciously and unconscious to avoid true EDI change—similar to how unconscious biases work. For this analysis to be successful, I will define the two sides in our conflict with BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists on one side and on the other side we have the privileged cis, white, het, upper class, male artists. The negotiators in the middle are the institutions we all work with throughout the industry. I chose these two groups of people because there are many statistics and reports from the US, Canada, and UK that show that a majority of arts funding and opportunities go to white-led organisations and white male artists. There is a history of erasure in our industry that particularly impacts Indigenous and Black artists[7] and we continue to let coloniality in the new music scene negatively affect marginalised artists and our identities.[8]
Meaningful change would involve leaving one’s often racist and gendered WECM musical aesthetics aside and investing in marginalized communities long-term.[11] This would include the full stop of gatekeeping and the use of excuses such as ‘we select on merit and not race or gender.’[12] This perspective, and many like it, assume that we are all treated equally by our economy and industry and that the same manual labour from one person will pay the same wages to all people. We know this is not true thanks to orchestral programing statistics,[13] gender pay disparities statistics,[14] inaccessible economies to people with disabilities,[15] inaccessible education systems,[16] and racist banking lending practices among other statistics.[17] Indeed, the problem of the cis, het, white, upper-class self and ego, being unconditionally supported and reaffirmed in our minority north global society, is one of the greatest challenges and distractions we face on a day-to-day basis in and outside of the industry.[18] White fragility, ignorance, and guilt also play a large role in whether change happens in the industry. Constructive ambiguity lets white people and people in power avoid their fragility and guilt while seeming like allies.
This article may not make sense to you and, that is ok. If there is one thing you should take from this article, especially if you are in a position of power within the WECM industry, it is that you may have to step aside and give your power and resources to people who do not think like you. In order to be more equitable, you may have to give your power to artists who do not make art like you, who make art that you do not understand, who critique you, who make you aware of your white skin, who make you aware of your privilege, who are angry at you, and ultimately, want or need to collaborate with you and or your organization to further their career. This is especially true in the US where individual federal artist grants were removed in 1996 by a republican congress. Let us remember that if we do not follow through with equitable change, and we continue to keep underrepresented people outside of majority-white institutions, that is segregation.
For further reading on white fragility, I recommend Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility[19] as well as Dylan Robinson’s “To All Who Should Be Concerned”.[20] It is beyond the scope of this article to explain what white fragility is, what systemic racism and gendered conventions are, but I will be making connections between them and how constructive ambiguity is used to further oppress and silence BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists. It should be noted that problems with DiAngleo's method of talking about race has been called into question as it tends to center whiteness. I will state my outright disgust, my bias, for constructive ambiguity in our industry. There have been many case studies on global issues that have shown how it can further exacerbate problems instead of helping to find meaningful change or peaceful agreements.[21] Instead, I will argue for a well-defined plan and EDI mission statement that leads to actual change defined by and for BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists themselves. A well-defined EDI plan that is public and transparent also allows for accountability, which is something an ambiguous statement helps to avoid.
1. Constructive ambiguity in orchestras
The Los Angeles Philharmonic was founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr.[22] To date, it has only ever had male conductors and is currently led by Gustav Dudamel. Its yearly operating budget is $120 million—clearly, they could afford to change if they wanted to! Its EDI statement can be found online.[23] The statement is quite vague, like others I will analyse. It reads,
Over the past 100-plus years, the LA Phil’s understanding of what we now call EDI—equity, diversity, and inclusion—has also grown more complex. What began in the 1920s as rare and isolated moments of diverse representation on stage has, over time, given way to more holistic approaches to diversity, as well as considerations of cultural equity and inclusivity.
As the organization continues to evolve, we are guided by the words of LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel who said, “The future is the present.” We take responsibility for the future through our actions and aspirations today. The following document, a summary of our beliefs and commitments to EDI, is intended to do just that—help shape our future by informing our organizational priorities and investments in the present.
The statement will act as a guide as we work to a) create a more culturally equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization and b) contribute to a more empathetic and just society through music and the arts.
It is also a living document that will grow and change as we do. A commitment to EDI is ongoing. There will always be more to learn and more work to do, as we strive to act consciously and conscientiously.
The statement contains constructive ambiguity throughout with no clear goals set in this quoted section or the rest of the EDI webpage. We have a sense that change is in the future and that ‘We take responsibility for the future through our actions and aspirations today.’ Who is the ‘we’?!? Is there someone who ultimately takes responsibility for the lack of EDI commitments? ‘Holistic approaches’ are undefined. There’s a vague sense of bringing an equitable future to the present in the second paragraph. It reaffirms the organisations commitment to EDI in the third paragraph, again, without defining what that means whether it is in the hiring of underrepresented artists, outreach programs, work on programming living or dead underrepresented composers, etc.
The last paragraph tends to be repeated in most organisation’s EDI statements and, as I will explain, can be one of the most negative uses of constructive ambiguity. By claiming that the EDI document is ‘living’ without any set goals in mind or well-defined plans it creates an ambiguous space that is hard to keep accountable. This lets an organisation claim that it is being equitable while still performing all-white, male, composer programs.[24] Constructive ambiguity also provides no challenge to what has now become known as the ‘diversity concert’.[25] These concerts tend to be all Brown and Black composers and usually all men. This particular diversity concert by the LA Phil on 30 September 2022 does feature one women composer, Gabriela Ortiz. This is gendered tokenism. Without a well-defined plan, racist, gendered, and ableist habits are unchallenged and true equity will never be reached. Similar programming habits can be found in many US and UK orchestras,[26] and they will continue without any equitable accountability since there is no well-defined diversity plan. This is not to dismiss the work that the LA Phil has done and continues to do through their Fellows program and outreach. I am simply wanting to analyse the destructive ambiguity in EDI statements and how that ambiguity can hinder change. The most recent programming statistics form the League of American Orchestras, and in partnership with other organisations, confirm that white, dead and alive, male composers still hold a monopoly on rehearsal and performance time in the US. They enjoy a whopping 70% of performance time.[27]
The Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, was founded in 1927/28 and currently has an operating budget of around $1.1 million.[28] The orchestra does not have a public EDI statement, though I suspect a generic one does exist and is shared with potential employees. There is an Impact webpage.[29] The only statistics that help to focus in on EDI commitments include the 4000 students invited each year to concerts and the over 1000 complimentary tickets given to underserved families as well as immigrants and refugees. The orchestra also provides some sort of transportation to underserved families, though this is undefined and how one accesses it is unknown from the webpage.
With no public EDI statement, we find the gravest type of constructive ambiguity. No statement means the public and its employees cannot hold the orchestra accountable for its EDI initiatives. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to know what ‘underserved’ means and if it is truly helping to create an equitable and accessible industry. What are the demographics being helped? Where are the BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ community? Without a visible EDI statement that hints at an organisation’s knowledge of systemic issues faced by people, can it be said that any good is being done? It would be more helpful if on the impact page there were goals and a well-defined action plan for how the orchestra intends to meet its community’s needs. By community, I mean both its immediate local community and the industry wide community. Providing complimentary tickets and transportation to underserved communities while performing mostly all-white, male, music is a contradiction.[30] A contradiction that is supported by the constructive ambiguity from having no well-defined EDI statement. This prevents equitable change from happening while providing something for the organisation to share on its webpage and social media accounts that appears to be equitable in nature. In the end, with no defined EDI statement, the only thing that happens is a smoke screen that allows for the status quo of gendered, ableist, and racist habits to continue.
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, based in Glasgow, was founded in 1935 and the average yearly operating budget for a BBC symphony is about £6.1 million.[31] It is yet another orchestra that has only ever had white, male lead conductors. For those outside of the UK, the BBC and its various organisations, including its orchestras, are primary funded through public funds. Unlike the other organisations I’m analysing here, the BBC as a whole has a 41-page Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan with the current one meant to serve from 2021-2023.[32] The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra itself does not have a publicly available EDI statement[33] but, the BBC as a whole (which includes about a 20,000 strong workforce) does have an action plan. It opens with its Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Miguela Gonzales, saying,
Diversity isn’t simply about assembling the right ratio of people with different characteristics or identities. It’s about understanding why those differences are valuable. Firstly you start to think beyond legally protected characteristics and you embrace all the nuanced varieties of ‘us’ - those who make up our workforce and our audiences.[34]
This is already a more nuanced understanding of EDI than the previous two orchestras I looked at. She continues with,
So we need to think not only of numbers in terms of representation, but also in terms of the culture created around difference. On screen, is diversity always a specialist topic or is it embedded in our programmes? Off screen and in the workplace, are you getting the best out of team members? Are they fully engaged? Are they bringing their true selves to their tasks and being allowed to add the value that naturally comes with being included?[35]
The plan is concerned with diversity and inclusion beyond just quotas. It is looking at the work culture of the BBC and advocating for its employees and audiences to engage with EDI in nuanced ways in and outside of work. Some of the achievements in the plan from 2016-2020 include:
A clear Diversity and Inclusion Statement of Intent
Inclusive Culture training - mandatory for team leaders
The BBC Disability Passport
1,000 LGBTQ+ Allies
Reformed recruitment processes
More diverse recruitment
The Fair Pay check
A new approach to flexible working, with 96% of vacancies now advertised as flexible
Additionally, they set a hiring goal to reach by 2020 that includes 50% gender equality, 20% in Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minorities hires, and 12% in disability and LGTBQ+ hires. There are problems with the 50/50 gender goals, which many workplaces have, because there are more than two genders. This is, I will acknowledge, at least attempting to rectify the prejudices women identifying people face. The BBC is also now looking at including non-binary and non-conforming gender identities.[36] The goals in BAME, disability, and out LGTBQ+ hires were not met for 2020 according to the report but, they are increasing. It is important to remember that these numbers are for the entire BBC workforce which is about 20,000 people and not specific to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Despite the BBC wide EDI plan, we still find issues in diversity in composer programming and performer hires. The next three concerts in August of 2022, for example, include only dead, white, male composers.[37] I believe that without a specific EDI goal for the orchestra, the distance between the orchestra and the BBC wide diversity goal will continue to be a space of constructive ambiguity. This will allow for the orchestra to remain performing all, white, male composer programs and escape accountability since, the orchestra itself, is not in charge of the diversity and inclusion plan. This may also be due to an internal issue to the orchestra where none of its immediate administrative staff is focused on EDI issues.
2. Constructive ambiguity in recording labels
DECCA Records is a British recording label established in 1928 by Edward Lewis.[38] Outside of Britain, it operates under the Universal Music Group umbrella. It has no publicly available EDI statement but its parent/partner company, Universal Music, does have a Social Responsibility webpage.[39] Their statement reads,
It’s the universal language. It inspires us, moves us, thrills us, heals us and ultimately unites us all. As the world’s leading music company, it’s our responsibility to nurture music, and to foster artistry and self-expression. In a world that desperately needs to find more common ground, there is no better way to provide it, than through music.
Using the collective power of our passionate community of music lovers – ranging from employees to artists to fans – we support and partner with organizations around the globe that are working towards meaningful positive change and social responsibility.
This statement assumes that western European art and popular music is universal. The idea that western European art and popular music is a universal language can be traced back to Schumann, who Dr Kira Thurman notes as saying, “[WECM] speaks the most universal of languages, one by which the soul is freely, yet indefinably moved; only then is it at home” (2013, 13). Thurman further states:
More importantly, to nineteenth-century thinkers, only German music remained pure enough, spiritual enough, and unmarked by the aesthetic and moral depravation of Italian music to express the universal message of Art. By proposing that universal music was serious, pure, and soulful, and by positioning German music as the only true expression of these universal values, German aesthetics, nationalists, and even politicians transformed a nationalist message into a universalist idea. By the 1870s, according to the musicologist Richard Taruskin, “Instrumental music was identified in the minds of many Europeans, not just Germans, as being (to quote the Russian pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein) ‘a German art’” (2013, 13).
This reveals a contradiction between DECCA’s universality belief in the music they record and what they mean by ‘social responsibility’. We must ask, ‘social responsibility’ for whom? These two competing ideas create constructive ambiguity and damages DECCA’s mission to be more equitable. The statement does not define music or the musicians that it wants to support. It does not define what ‘common ground’ is and what communities need to find ‘common ground’. It also does not define which organisations it is working with to further ‘meaningful positive change and social responsibility.’ There are no statistics to see how the recorded catalogue is helping in its social responsibility mission. The catalogue itself does not provide a way to see the marginalized artists it is supporting, though on the landing page on 5 August 2022 Sheku Kanneh-Mason is featured.[40] Without a well-defined EDI statement and goals, I would call Kanneh-Mason’s feature tokenism. As I have stressed with other organisations that don’t have an EDI statement or goals, it will be impossible to hold DECCA Records accountable for equitable practices now and in the future. The constructive ambiguity here gives DECCA the ability to continue recording majority-white musicians and composers which is easily seen when glancing at the catalogue.[41] How do we know DECCA is equitable? How can we hold DECCA accountable externally? Without a statement, there is nothing to change, because to them, there is no problem. With this, constructive ambiguity is an easy way to continue building a majority-white catalogue.
Similarly, Odradek Records has no EDI statement or goals and has recently tweeted about the lack of gender representation in their catalogue.[42] Their stance is that the label is ‘artist-led’ and that the label in no way restricts what artists record. This is yet another passive way to support diversity and inclusion and passes the so called ‘burden’ of EDI to its artists with no guidance. This type of constructive ambiguity is rooted in passivity masking as progressiveness. It is another way to avoid confronting EDI work and to never be accountable for an equitable catalogue and business. The logic is similar in how Republicans in the US continually use the ‘state’s rights’ tactic to overturn abortion rights and book bans that challenge white supremacy. It leaves change to happen ‘organically’ amongst the many artists Odradek collaborates with. Equitable change, however, cannot happen without clear goals. Artist-led ambiguity then helps to sustain the cis, white, het, upper-class, male musician—something easily seen in their available catalogue. Additionally, Odradek Records continues to use blind and merit-based artist selection.[43] In the conclusion, I will write about the issues with these hiring methods which assume that all people are treated equally in our economy and industry. Without a clear EDI statement and goals, as we have seen in other organisations, change simply doesn’t happen or is masked as ‘slow’ change. I continue to ask, slow for whom?
3. Constructive ambiguity in other arts organizations
Slippedisc was founded in 2007 “by author and broadcaster Norman Lebrecht with the aim of providing swift and reliable inside information on [western European] classical music and related arts.” It does not have a diversity or inclusion statement and the consequences of that can be seen in its often racist and sexist reporting. Slippedisc is on the extreme side of what can happen when an organization wallows in constructive ambiguity in the name of the white patriarchy or free speech. It misleads its readers on issues of systemic racism with headlines that read “HOW AN ENGLISH ORCHESTRA CONDUCTS ETHNIC CLEANSING”[44] and continues to harass women musicians, in particular, such as Yuja Wang often ignoring her performance in favour of reviewing her clothes.[45] The writing style various greatly from when cis, white, het, male musicians are reviewed[46] versus BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ musicians—which, surprise! They’re rarely, if ever, reviewed by Slippedisc. When a cis, het, man’s clothes reveal his tattoos it somehow ‘Doesn’t affect the voice’[47] yet, when Yuja Wang wears a dress she feels reflects her relationship to the music, it may ‘wreck’ her career.[48] Whether it is in the name of free speech or not, the constructive ambiguity between Slippedisc and having no EDI statement is a shining example of how an organization can avoid total EDI accountability, and even knowledge of, and continue to support a mostly white, cis, het, male gaze in the WECM industry.
In comparison, NewMusicUSA has no diversity statement available though they do have the Reel Change Fund,[49] diversity archives,[50] and have continued to make awardees of their programs public.[51] They also make their impact easily viewable online.[52] A few of their statistics for the 2021 grant season include:
73% of individual grant awardees identified as BIPOC
60% of awardees identified as women and non-binary
There are some quite restrictive geographical requirements that severely affect people working outside of New York State with NY State artists receiving about 84% of yearly funding. See the break-down here:[53]
49% of our grants budget is available without geographical restriction
35% is restricted to New York City based artists/organizations
11% is restricted to New York State based artists/organizations
2% is restricted to New Jersey based artists/organizations
2% is restricted to California Bay Area based artists/organizations
They also usually give about 1% of their yearly funds to artists working in Pennsylvania. While NewMusicUSA does have impressive funding support for New York based underrepresented artists, there seems to be no publicly available action plan on diversity and inclusion. One main concern I have raised in this article is that any sort of constructive ambiguity with regards to diversity and inclusion will severely and negatively affect BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists in the long and short-term. Goals should be clearly stated and although NewMusicUSA has impressive statistics for BIPOC and women/non-binary artists there are currently no available statistics on disabled and LGTBQ+ artists. NewMusicUSA does however have this statement about 1/3 of the way down on their impact webpage:
New Music USA stands in opposition to injustice and bias against all marginalized communities – including Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other people of color, immigrants and refugees, the religiously oppressed, LGBTQIA+ communities, women and marginalized genders, and people with disabilities.[54]
Statements like these are ambiguous because although one can state their support for underrepresented people, there is now way to hold the organization accountable for how they will show their support now or in the future. There are no statistics available specifically for the impact NewMusicUSA has had on Indigenous artists, immigrants, refugees, religiously oppressed, and disabled musicians. Solidarity is important but it does not help artists pay rent. Solidarity is often used as part of the marketing narrative organizations construct for public consumption. Please know that I am not accusing NewMusicUSA of anything and am merely focusing on how constructive ambiguity is embedded in statements and the effects ambiguity has on underrepresented artist communities. By comparison, the American Composer’s Forum has a diversity mission statement and goals clearly articulating their intention to raise BIPOC awardees and applicants to 60% by fiscal year 2025.[55] Ambiguity still exists though when it comes to disabled and LGTBQ+ artists in the goals, which seems to be a trend amongst organizations I am analysing.
4. Constructive honesty and commitment to equity
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional theatre in Ashland, Oregon. Their yearly operating budget is around $40 million. They host 8+ shows a year in three separate spaces that include a black box, open air theatre, and a traditional indoor theatre, plus an unofficial park venue. OSF’s diversity and inclusion statement is undergoing review and unavailable at the time I was writing this article.[56] Their mission statement, however, does includes their commitment to being inclusive and I suspect the new diversity and inclusion statement will be well defined.[57] I worked at OSF in 2015 as an assistant sound designer through their FAIR program. At that time, they were producing several shows with all marginalized actors and designers such as a Shakespeare show with an all Vietnamese or Latinx cast. Additionally, they have historically given free tickets to high schools in the region and have collaborated/funded projects with smaller partner theatre companies[58] run by underrepresented artists from California and Washington state. While introducing new shows and actors and designers to majority white audiences, OSF has continued to make most of their operating budget from ticket sales year to year putting to rest the racist and false narrative that orchestras consistently use—that underrepresented artists (often categorised as ‘unknown’) lead to low ticket sales.[59] In 2022, OSF had hired 73% BIPOC actors and musicians and 63% BIPOC creative teams.[60]
OSF also supports a robust internship program aimed at underrepresented people that pays for travel to and from OSF, housing, and provides a stipend.[61] This alone has created a large pool of people who now actively work in the theatre field across the nation from NYC to Ashland, Oregon. Although no diversity statement is available now, one can see that OSF’s multi-pronged approach and commitment to diversity and inclusion is more than just a fad or a marketing scheme to try and get funding. They are committed to building the careers of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists from when they are in K-12 students, to emerging artists, and finally becoming professional freelancers. No WECM institution can say that they are as committed to diversity and inclusion and are as deeply effective as OSF. The time and resources OSF invest in underrepresented artists is what WECM institutions need to do in order to help remake our increasingly disparaged industry and society. OSF’s actions leave little room for constructive ambiguity day to day and long-term. This is what is needed in WECM.
The Oakland East Bay Symphony is based in California with Michael Morgan directing from 1990 – 2021 due to his unfortunate death in 2021.[62] The orchestra has a general vision statement with no diversity focus yet, it has had super high diversity in programming male Black and Brown composers while Michael Morgan was alive and principal conductor. With no concrete and publicly available EDI vision it will be interesting to see what the orchestra will do in future years as they move to working with another director. Changes in programming often follow changes in principle conductors and or artistic directors. Constructive ambiguity favours the personal aesthetics of those in charge rather than supporting the true equity of one’s immediate community of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists. Ambiguity in diversity statements may let an incoming conductor, for example, focus on recording and performing another Beethoven symphony cycle or another Mahler symphony cycle because this is what an unchecked, patriarchal, capitalist, racist, and ableist field deems as the ultimate opportunity for any conductor and orchestra. With constructive ambiguity deeply embedded in an organizations mission, there is nothing to challenge the status quo of the field and thus an organization going through major changes—whether artist directors, musicians, administrators, or board members—can lose any progress they have made in diversity quite easily.
Chineke! Orchestra is “Europe’s first majority-Black and ethnically diverse orchestra… [and] performs a mixture of standard orchestral repertoire along with the works of Black and ethnically diverse composers both past and present.”[63] It performs several times a year across the UK and Europe. Their diversity and inclusion statement is quite vague, like many I have shown above, with one line devoted to underrepresented artists that reads “The organisation aims to be a catalyst for change, realising existing diversity targets within the industry by increasing the representation of Black and ethnically diverse musicians in British and European orchestras.”[64]This does not provide a path forward for an organization nor does it make it easy to hold the organization accountable publicly.
Something interesting that has come up in comparing all of these institutions is that regardless of how ambiguous or well-defined a diversity statement is that does not have a direct correlation to true diversity and inclusion within the organization. Both Chineke! and the Oakland East Bay Symphony, for example, have quite ambiguous statements on diversity and yet they are both leading the field when it comes to hiring underrepresented performers and programming underrepresented composers—though more work still needs to be done. Although their current practices are fantastic in of themselves and when compared to their majority-white peer orchestras, ambiguous and or non-existent diversity statements leave an opportunity for progress to be lost and for little to no accountability down the line.
NMC Recordings in Britain and Ireland has a great plan to attack diversity and equity. It is super well defined, publicly available, and transparent.[65] Their Inclusivity Action Plan includes the following points:
Organisation development - Participation in Music Masters’ I’M IN Diversity and Inclusion programme.
Governance - We will ensure 50/50 gender representation on the board; regularly assess and audit Board skills and expertise; appoint a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Board ‘champion’; monitor delivery of DEI outcomes.
Workforce - We will sign up to targeted work experience schemes; review recruitment and selection procedures to reach diverse candidate pools.
Artistic - We will agree targets and action plans so that everyone, including those with protected characteristics, can access the opportunities we offer:
Our forward release schedule will include at least 50% of releases featuring composers who identify as women;
By December 2022, we will double the number of ethnically diverse composers of African, Caribbean, South, East and South East Asian heritage in our catalogue from 19 to 38 [based on 2017 data];
We will include composers and artists who identify as disabled.
We will actively seek to encourage diversity in the partner organisations with whom we develop projects.
Education - We will ensure that diversity and inclusion objectives are integral to engaging participants and artists in all education activities delivered by NMC and partners. A key aim of the strategy is to target new projects in areas of lowest artistic provision and socio-economic disadvantage.
They also include the following disclaimer: This will continue to be an evolving area of work and we are committed to being open about the challenges we face and the advances we make.
Several of the points in the plan are measurable including the 50/50 gender composer goal as well as the doubling in ethnically diverse composers from 19% to 38%. The constructive ambiguity, however, is embedded in the goal to include disabled artists (who I assume are the performers) and composers. It would be interesting to know why NMC has no data points for this demographic. Adding them to the goals would only decrease the ambiguity and increase their affect.
Most constructive ambiguity I would label as a negative as it gives an institution a way to avoid accountability on diversity and inclusion. However, I do see the disclaimer offered at the bottom of the NMC webpage as a type of positive ambiguity when it reads “This will continue to be an evolving area of work…” and then provides the contact details to their Director of Development who is currently Alex Wright. This is different from previously mentioned EDI statements who say similar disclaimers but then don’t offer a way to continue to conversation. By offering the disclaimer, a well-defined plan, and contact details to a specific person within the organisation, NMC has provided a direct line to continue the conversation with the public and allowed us to hold them accountable through the proper channels should we ever feel the need to. This decreases the amount of ambiguity between all parties involved and gives a clear path forward for the support of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists should they want to work with NMC. This transparency also helps to redistribute the emotional labour involved in making change. Instead of it being the sole responsibility of underrepresented artists to speak out, cis, het, white allies can use the publicly available action plan to hold NMC accountable.
Conclusion
I am not interested in empty responses haphazardly written by organisations I mentioned in this article via social media or email. The only thing those responses serve is to distract from the change and to keep constructive ambiguity in diversity and equity—as I said before, it is cheap marketing, and I am tired of it. These immediate responses dismiss the point of the article and usually read along the lines of ‘change is slow’ or ‘we are aware of the issue and are working on it’. I am not here to do the work for these or other organisations. I am interested in the immediate change and meaningful reconfiguration of our industry that commits to enact diversity and equity for artists who identify as BIPOC, disabled, and or LGTBQ+. This means what some would call a radical redistribution of resources and letting underrepresented artists define how they use them rather than letting the hierarchies in our industry defining the process for us.[66] Constructive ambiguity serves white-led organisations in the end.
Although the pandemic did affect our entire industry and shut down many organizations and individual’s careers, it has and continues to more severely effect the careers of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists more so than that of the careers of upper class, cis, white, het, male artists. What few opportunities we had pre-pandemic were erased and programs instead continue to feature all-white, dead, European, male musicians for the usual racist, sexist, and ableist lies and or excuses—e.g. ticket or recording sales plummet with unknown composers, funding was prioritised to emergency living grants rather than art making, etc. I have come to know many artists who have been forced to pivot careers entirely effectively killing their art making due to our increasingly unstable economy, rising inflation, and stagnant opportunities and wages. Constructive ambiguity in the EDI statements of organisations then is another nail in the coffin for the careers of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists. Ambiguous mission statements on diversity and equity allows organisations to continue maintaining unchallenged the status quo of the white, cis, het, male musicians over that of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists. I do not mean to erase the meaningful work that has been done by many organisations and individuals that I have and have not mentioned in this article. But I do want to stop and recognise one of the biggest hurdles preventing our entire industry from changing.
When BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQ+ artists hear statements like:
We are aware of the issue and are working on it.
Our record label is artist-led and we do not as a label make decisions on what or who artists record.
We use blind auditions, so we are not racist/ableist/sexist.
what we are hearing and what is actually happening is people in charge are avoiding fault and accountability for their white supremacist, ableist, and sexist behaviour. Constructive ambiguity leads to passive support for change and leads to no accountability. People in charge, regardless if you are white or steeped in whiteness, need to not only take full responsibility for the pathetic change (or lack thereof) happening but you must enact corrective action that leads to true equity within one year or less. Orchestra managers continue to say ‘we program out three years in advance. Change is slow.’ Yet none of them can show us what their plans are three years from now. Show us the plan! And many of the orchestra programs I reviewed in 2021 (two years ago!) are still programming similar if not the exact same repertoire!![67]
In many instances, white male musicians on twitter and in person have said something to the effect of “all the opportunities are being given to underrepresented artists so there are none for me.”[68] This type of behaviour is imbued with ignorance and is what I specifically call white ignorance. The racist refrain focuses on their individual experience versus the historical white supremacist truth in our global minority north society. It does not recognize the systemic issues in our industry that continue to silence and kill the careers of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists. Instead, the refrain frames the white male as an individual operating in a vacuum where racism, sexism, and ableism does not exist against BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ people and attempts to create sympathy via ‘reverse racism’. But what we must remember when encountering ignorance like this, is that there are no systemic issues affecting cis, white, het, male musicians in the same way systemic issues continue to affect the livelihoods of BIPOC, disabled, and LGTBQ+ artists.
In this article, I have referred to a ‘reconfiguration’ of our industry that is needed in order to correct the biases toward white, cis, het, male artists. If this is to happen without further expansion of the current finite funding, resources, and opportunities, the reconfiguration will in fact mean that white, cis, het, male artists will be given an equitable amount of funding, resources, and opportunities. This will mean that, for example, in the orchestral world in the US where cis, het, white, male composers, dead and alive, enjoy a monopoly of 70% of rehearsal and performance time, white, cis, het, male composers will have considerably less orchestral opportunities within their own demographics. A demographic, which we cannot forget, has enjoyed an economic reality in which all other demographics are exploited to support the success of the white, cis, het, male musician. Being equitable as a white, cis, het, male artist, then, means having less! But this cannot happen unless people in charge work through their own white fragility and stop using constructive ambiguity to distract us from the much-needed equitable change. DiAngelo writes,
One way that whites protect their positions when challenged on race is to invoke the discourse of self-defense. Through this discourse, whites characterize themselves as victimized, slammed, blamed, and attacked. Whites who describe the interactions in this way are responding to the articulation of counternarratives alone…These self-defense claims work on multiple levels. They identify the speakers as morally superior while obscuring the true power of their social positions. The claims blame others with less social power for their discomfort and falsely describe that discomfort as dangerous. The self-defense approach also reinscribes racist imagery. By positioning themselves as the victim of antiracist efforts, they cannot be the beneficiaries of whiteness. Claiming that it is they who have been unfairly treated—through a challenge to their position or an expectation that they listen to the perspectives and experiences of people of color—they can demand that more social resources (such as time and attention) be channeled in their direction to help them cope with this mistreatment.[69]
DiAngelo continues with,
The language of violence that many whites use to describe antiracist endeavors is not without significance, as it is another example of how white fragility distorts reality. By employing terms that connote physical abuse, whites tap into the classic story that people of color (particularly African Americans) are dangerous and violent. In so doing, whites distort the real direction of danger between whites and others. This history becomes profoundly minimized when whites claim they don’t feel safe or are under attack when they find themselves in the rare situation of merely talking about race with people of color. The use of this language of violence illustrates how fragile and ill-equipped most white people are to confront racial tensions, and their subsequent projection of this tension onto people of color.[70]
Change in our industry will not happen unless white people in charge, and those steeped in whiteness, face their own white fragility. If we continue to be distracted by the same conversations in EDI committees, conference meetings, and social media, we will never become an equitable industry. I for one, am tired. I know I am not the only one who deals with fatigue in activist work, and deal with the guilt that this work takes up considerable emotional and physical resources away from my artistic and academic endeavours.
I still hope this article may help to change our industry and guide organisations as they work on their EDI mission statements and plans. Constructive ambiguity is used by the US to further its colonial and imperialist agenda even today, as it continues to create ordered chaos.[71] It has also become embedded in EDI statements of WECM organisations. Constructive ambiguity was used by Kissinger to destabilise the Middle East and cement the US’ crude oil supply chain. It was used in South American foreign policy to distract from the support the US gave to several extreme right-wing coups. The same concept is being used as a tool by WECM organisations, consciously and unconsciously, to further delay the inevitable equitable change we (I!) demand. We must work to get rid of constructive ambiguity in our EDI statements and plans and firmly act. Although many people have argued against initiatives like Affirmative Action, alternatives such as merit-based and blind auditions, for example, tend to be biased toward cis, white, het, male musicians.[72] This is because merit-based and blind hiring practices assume that we are all treated equally in our economy, and I hope I have shown (reminded!) this is not true. Merit-based and blind auditions are passive and ineffective ways to support EDI initiatives. Concrete EDI goals must be set to reconfigure our industry and we must end the passive and ambiguous practices we use which continue to distract us from true equitable change. Work through your white fragility, step aside (if and when need be), and support an equitable industry long-term and sustainably.
Footnotes [1] Michael Byers (2021) Still agreeing to disagree: international security and constructive ambiguity, Journal on the Use of Force and International Law, 8:1, 91-114, DOI: 10.1080/20531702.2020.1761656 [2] Byers, Pehar, and https://web.archive.org/web/20080504224441/http://www.diplomacy.edu/Books/language_and_diplomacy/book.htm and https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/when-ambiguity-is-destructive/ [3] South American coups and its relationship with China and Taiwan. [4] For a thorough look at Kissinger’s methods I recommend his books Diplomacy (1994)and World Order (2014). [5] Examples include recent heightened tensions with China as Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan and the US’ relationship to the Saudi Arabia. [6] Originally, I had intended to analyse EDI statements of conservatoires and university music programs in the US and UK, but this deserves its own time and space in a separate article. There are more things to consider in the EDI statements and initiatives of schools that deserves further study I may undertake at a later time. [7] Thurman 2013 [8] Dharmoo 2019 [9] Byers, Pehar, and https://web.archive.org/web/20080504224441/http://www.diplomacy.edu/Books/language_and_diplomacy/book.htm and https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/when-ambiguity-is-destructive/ [10] Dharmoo 2019 [11] McClary 2002 [12] Will Robin has written extensively on the funding of US new music ensembles and artist from the 80s and 90s. He has also covered how some ensembles like The New Music Group resisted the call to support minority composers and continued to put on all-white male programs. This would eventually see their demise in part because of racist tendencies but also a republican congress which significantly defunded the National Endowment for the Arts. See https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/diversity-inclusion-and-funding-new-music-in-the-90s/ [13] For statistic following the inclusion of women composers see https://wophil.org/2022-23-repertoire-report/ and for statistics looking at orchestral programming statistics in 133 US orchestras where deceased white male composers made up 70% of programming in the 2021-2022 season please see https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b9ee971fcf7fd7add652207/t/62960a5d2a1998349128b94d/1654000223744/ICD_2022_ORCH_REPORT_MAY31.pdf. [14] For a look at gender pay disparities in WECM see Emily Doolittle’s article ‘The Long Term Effects of Gender Discriminatory Programming’ here https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/the-long-term-effects-of-gender-discriminatory-programming/ and in the US in 2020 women still earned $0.82 for every dollar a man earned. Please see this report https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/01/gender-pay-gap-widens-as-women-age.html#:~:text=Although%20the%20gender%20pay%20gap,the%20Bureau%20of%20Labor%20Statistics. In the UK the gender pay gap is at 7% from 2021 seen here https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2021 [15] For a look at how mental health conditions affect composers see JOANNA WARD’s article here: https://icareifyoulisten.com/2021/09/redefining-compositional-practices-under-contemporary-capitalism-casting-light-5/ [16] See graduation rates broken down by many different demographics in the US here https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_red.asp#:~:text=The%20150%20percent%20graduation%20rate,Black%20students%20(23%20percent). See also system inequalities in US k-12 education systems here https://www.humanium.org/en/access-to-education-in-the-united-states-inequality/ [17] See how federal FEMA loans for disaster recovery aid tends to be biased toward white rich neighbourhoods here https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/688786177/how-federal-disaster-money-favors-the-rich?t=1659526715873 [18] See Anna Bull’s Class, Control, and Classical Music as well as Frantz Fanon’s Black Skins, White Masks. See also Toni Morrison’s presentation from 1975 at the Portland State University Library where she speaks of racism as a distraction to prop up white supremacist culture https://soundcloud.com/portland-state-library/portland-state-black-studies-1 and for a look at how legislature affects how disabled people can and cannot interact with our economy see https://www.americanprogress.org/article/advancing-economic-security-people-disabilities/ and also https://tcf.org/content/commentary/removing-economic-barriers-for-disabled-people-requires-understanding-intersectionality/?session=1 [19] DiAngelo 2018 [20] Robinson 2019 [21] Michael Byers (2021) Still agreeing to disagree: international security and constructive ambiguity, Journal on the Use of Force and International Law, 8:1, 91-114, DOI: 10.1080/20531702.2020.1761656 [22] https://www.laphil.com/about/la-phil/la-phil-story [23] https://www.laphil.com/about/la-phil/equity-diversity-and-inclusion [24] https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/1775/2022-09-27/gala-john-williams-celebration [25] https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/1776/2022-09-30/dudamel-leads-songs-of-the-americas [26] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBbNRglNK5Aq8vZhFOQGEPi62tw-NBy_B [27]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b9ee971fcf7fd7add652207/t/62960a5d2a1998349128b94d/1654000223744/ICD_2022_ORCH_REPORT_MAY31.pdf [28] https://lincolnsymphony.com/mission-and-history/ [29] https://lincolnsymphony.com/impact-report/ [30] See their concert programs here: https://lincolnsymphony.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FY20-Annual-Report.pdf [31]https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/reports/pdf/bbcperforminggroups_johnmyerscough.pdf [32] https://www.bbc.com/diversity/documents/bbc-diversity-and-inclusion-plan20-23.pdf [33] https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcsso [34] Page 9 https://www.bbc.com/diversity/documents/bbc-diversity-and-inclusion-plan20-23.pdf [35] Page 9 https://www.bbc.com/diversity/documents/bbc-diversity-and-inclusion-plan20-23.pdf [36] Page 12 https://www.bbc.com/diversity/documents/bbc-diversity-and-inclusion-plan20-23.pdf [37] 6 August 2022: https://www.bbc.com/diversity/documents/bbc-diversity-and-inclusion-plan20-23.pdf; 17 August 2022: https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ez69hn; 18 August 2022: https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/en8wxj [38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decca_Records [39] https://www.universalmusic.com/social-responsibility/ [40] https://www.deccaclassics.com/en [41] https://www.deccaclassics.com/en/catalogue [42] https://twitter.com/ConTempoCKIAFM/status/1553817069988241414 [43] https://www.facebook.com/OdradekRecords/posts/odradek-records-uses-anonymuzecom-to-democratically-select-artists-ensuring-our-/966907830008942/ [44] https://slippedisc.com/2021/09/how-an-english-orchestra-conducts-ethnic-cleansing/ [45] https://slippedisc.com/2021/10/why-yuja-wang-cant-have-it-both-ways/ [46] https://myscena.org/norman-lebrecht/lebrecht-weekly-matangi-outcast-pias/ [47] https://slippedisc.com/2022/07/jonas-kaufmann-shows-his-tattoos/ [48] https://slippedisc.com/2021/10/why-yuja-wang-cant-have-it-both-ways/ [49] https://newmusicusa.org/program/reel-change-film-fund/ [50] https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/tag/diversity/ [51] https://newmusicusa.org/program/organizational-development-fund/ [52] https://newmusicusa.org/who-we-are/#our-impact [53] https://newmusicusa.org/faqs-on-new-music-organizational-development-fund/ [54] https://newmusicusa.org/who-we-are/#our-impact [55] https://composersforum.org/artist-equity/statement-of-commitment/ [56] https://www.osfashland.org/company/diversity-and-inclusion.aspx [57] https://www.osfashland.org/company/mission-and-values.aspx [58] https://www.osfashland.org/artist-biographies/artistic-staff/universes-ensemble.aspx [59] Most recently at the Association of British Orchestras 2022, several orchestra executives reference studies that showed up to a 20% drop in ticket sales of performances including unknown composers. I have yet to locate these studies. [60] https://www.broadwayworld.com/portland/article/Creative-Teams-and-Casts-Announced-For-2022-Oregon-Shakespeare-Festival-20220302 [61] https://www.osfashland.org/fair [62] https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/about-us/mission-vision/ [63] https://www.chineke.org/our-mission [64] https://www.chineke.org/our-mission [65] https://www.nmcrec.co.uk/about-us/inclusivity [66] Attariwala and Peerbaye 2018 [67] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBbNRglNK5Aq8vZhFOQGEPi62tw-NBy_B [68] See Ian Pace’s twitter feed. [69] DiAngelo 2018 [70] DiAngelo 2018 [71] https://news.sky.com/story/taiwan-tensions-adam-boulton-on-the-rising-rhetoric-stirred-up-by-nancy-pelosis-visit-12664941 [72] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/arts/music/blind-auditions-orchestras-race.html
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