“Joining a major American orchestra takes exceptional musicianship, years of training and—not least—a great audition,” writes Janelle Gelfand in Friday’s (7/21) Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio). “ ‘It’s a very competitive environment,’ ” [27-year-old cellist Diana] Flores said last week at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music…. According to the League of American Orchestras, only about 4 percent of American orchestra musicians are African-American and Latino…. Flores is starting her second year in a new program that aims to bring more diversity to American orchestras. The collaboration of CCM and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra [is] known as the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship…. The program’s aim is to change the face of symphony orchestras…. The two-year program provides under-served but talented young artists with the tools to succeed in a highly competitive industry. And just announced is the Mellon Foundation’s renewal grant of $850,000 … The second class of diversity fellows will appear on campus this month…. In the fellowship program, tuition is covered and each fellow receives a stipend, as well as remuneration for performing with the Cincinnati Symphony. Travel expenses are paid for out-of-town auditions…. And fellows are paired with symphony mentors for the two-year period.”
In photo: Diana Flores, center, a participant in the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship, playing with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra earlier this year. Photo: AJ Waltz.
Posted July 24, 2017
