2022-23 Musician Handbook: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

GTCYS’ equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives began in 2016 to deepen our longtime commitment to excellence and access, and to recognize the unique contributions that individuals of all backgrounds bring to our music education programs. Our organization-wide EDI initiatives strive to create an equitable and inclusive culture where students are heard and honored for their unique identities, and supported to achieve a high level of excellence, both musically and personally. Alongside the broader community, we also recognize and strive to work against systems that have created historic inequalities in music. Orchestras are communities – of students, parents/guardians, and educators – and we create stronger, more successful communities when we come together not only with a common love for music, but with a shared goal around humanity.

To drive EDI within GTCYS, we are specifically pursuing initiatives that:

• Reduce barriers and broaden access by providing tuition scholarships, instruments, and private lessons
• Recruit and retain students from populations underrepresented in orchestral music through our Harmony program, Launch Lessons, and community partnerships
• Cultivate an inclusive culture for all students by revamping our student policies, listening to family feedback, and adapting with changing needs
• Expand music selections and programming to feature more gender diverse and BIPOC composers and artists
• Educate our staff, faculty and board through anti-racism training and EDI professional development

We invite your input as we strive to create a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive community through our work with young people. What would you like to see? What should we do differently? Please contact executive director Megen Balda at megen@gtcys.org.