“Auditioning for an orchestra can be daunting for anyone, but this is especially true for musicians of color, who often have to brave the jitters and the lofty, intimidating concert hall only to find themselves standing alone in a sea of white faces,” writes Itzia Crespo in last Thursday’s (2/28) State Press, the newspaper of Arizona State University. “That was the case for Chaz Salazar [in photo], a Mexican-American ASU alumnus and flautist who’s currently auditioning at multiple places for a seat in the orchestra. Salazar, who obtained a bachelor of music from ASU in 2015 and masters of music in 2017, is the recipient of a grant from … the National Alliance for Audition Support, an initiative to help support musicians of color through the audition process. The Sphinx Organization, founded by Aaron Dworkin, launched the National Alliance for Audition Support on Jan. 1, 2018 as a collaboration between The Sphinx Organization, the New World Symphony and the League of American Orchestras. Johnnia Stigall, project manager for the initiative, said that currently only 5 percent of musicians in American symphonies are made up of Black and Latinx people. ‘The ultimate goal is to move the needle and have greater representation in American symphonies,’ Stigall said.”
Posted March 8, 2019
