The Chicago Sinfonietta in rehearsal with dancers from the Mandala South Asian Performing Arts School for the orchestra’s second annual Diwali celebration concert, November 2019.
“Founded in 1987 by the late conductor and activist Paul Freeman, the Chicago Sinfonietta was designed from day one to welcome people of color, onstage and off,” writes Howard Reich in Friday’s (9/25) Chicago Tribune. “More than 35 percent of the Sinfonietta is staffed by musicians of color, and over 45 percent of those are women…. The Sinfonietta audience on average is … 37 percent African American, 5 percent Latino and 4 percent Asian. As for who runs the orchestra: 58 percent of the board, 73 percent of the associate board and 36 percent of the staff are people of color…. On May 15, Blake-Anthony Johnson became the Sinfonietta’s new chief executive officer…. The Sinfonietta has achieved more diverse staffing … in the most direct way possible: recruitment…. ‘Maestro Freeman created Project Inclusion,’ a mentorship program … to better prepare [musicians] for the auditions ahead, says music director Mei-Ann Chen…. Johnson sees the Sinfonietta’s long-standing approach as the future for orchestral music in America. ‘Right now, every orchestra is really in a race to become that 21st century orchestra, and it’s not a model that has been perfected,’ says Johnson. ‘A lot of people now are invested in diversity, equity and inclusion.’ ”
