Our Clarinet Community

We believe that our clarinet community is made stronger by the diversity within it. We are adamant that events within our community should represent our diverse makeup and be accessible to all.

Individuals

When asked to join in an event, whether as performer, adjudicator, or teacher, be sure to ask about the event’s makeup. Only by advocating for diversity and insisting on representation will we be able to make a change! 

Take the pledge online! Record yourself taking the pledge to voice your support for Diversity and Equality in our worldwide clarinet community. 

Companies

If your company is owned by a marginalized individual, please share that information through our link. We look forward to publishing a list of these companies in order to help people navigate and support these businesses.

If you are an ally to marginalized groups, we want to support you, too. Please feel free to share our image and take our pledge publicly.

Event Organizers

The more diverse a panel of judges, performers, or teachers—the more welcoming your event is to our worldwide community. Please be sure to include diversity from at least two of the following under represented categories: race or ethnicity, gender and gender diverse, people of various sexual orientations, and or people with disabilities. 

Many of our young clarinetists from under-represented groups would be better able to attend if there were scholarships available for them. Please consider offering a diversity scholarship to help your event to ensure it will be more diverse and inclusive. 

If you are planning a diverse event, please feel free to share your advertisement on the ClarEquality Facebook Page and use our logo.

Diversity, Equity, and Equality are sadly lacking the world of classical music. When one looks at today’s symphony orchestras, and the composers and soloists they feature, that world consists of one chosen gender, race, and sexual orientation. They are creating false limits for the others who because of these, cannot attain their dreams, fulfill their passions, and break artistic boundaries through no fault of their own but due entirely to things which they have no control.

The artificial culture in the classical music world which gives the position of leadership to a single sex, single race, and single sexual orientation is simply wrong. It damages the creativity of the art by keeping out all but one.

We need to resolve this injustice now. Too many talented people are silenced thanks to ignorant biases of gender, race, and sexual orientation. The next generation of artists, all of them, want to soar. It is our responsibility to set them free to reach heights that have never been reached before.

Julia Heinen, DMA

In my lifetime, the world has become a much smaller place. World travel, almost unheard of when I was born in the 1950’s has become common place. Most cell phone companies allow world-wide usage, and with the invention of the internet, and “Zoom “in particular, we can converse with people of all types of nationalities. With the passing of several laws in the US, people are now able to marry the one they love. As a result, we are now able to hear music, perform with people and teach people from all over the world.

We exist in a world that exists globally. For music to grow, it must be part of this global activity. We NEED to include not just composers, but performers from this world-wide diverse population. We need to be diverse enough to include people of different genders, sexual orientation, colors, and nationalities. We are a global community, and we need these voices as a part of our art.

William O. Smith said something to me once that has been my mantra for the past 2 decades. “Music will die if you don’t refresh it”. We need to keep diverse and include equally and equitably people from our global community.

Robert Spring, DMA