“Last June, I participated in a panel called ‘New Voices: Composers of Today’ at the League of American Orchestras National Conference along with Daniel Bernard Roumain, Jennifer Jolley, Evan Williams, and Derrick Spiva, Jr.,” writes composer Alex Temple in Thursday’s (10/17) icareifiyoulisten.com. “We focused on issues of inclusion and representation…. Someone [from the audience] mentioned that Laura Kaminsky’s trans coming-of-age story As One was currently the most-performed opera by a living composer in North America…. The popularity of As One is a sign of progress. Unlike most well-known art about trans people, it was actually co-created by one—librettist Kimberly Reed [and] has been conducted by a trans woman, Alexandra Enyart…. But it’s only the first step…. In a truly inclusive new-music world, we wouldn’t have to make do with other people’s depictions of us; we’d be able to represent ourselves…. [At] a panel called ‘Engaging the LGBTQ+ Community’ … a representative of a Bay Area orchestra asked how he could bring in more trans audience members…. By creating social environments where we can feel at ease…. While outreach is valuable, it’s nothing compared to inclusion.” Click here to read about representation of the LGBTQ+ community at orchestras in Symphony magazine.
Posted October 21, 2019
In photo: Panelists at the “Engaging the LGBTQ+ Community” session at the League of American Orchestras’ 2019 Conference, from left: Daryn Bauer, the Florida Orchestra; Laura Reynolds, Seattle Symphony; Miguel García, Chicago Sinfonietta; Leo Hurley, composer; Julie Desbordes, Queer Urban Orchestra. Photo by Alan Poizner
