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Academic Major: Music Education/Music Performance
Advisor: Shelly Tramposh
Title: Diversity and Inclusion in the NYSSMA Strings Manual
Our project takes the form of a collection of resources aimed to diversify the New York State School Music Association’s (NYSSMA) Manual. The NYSSMA manual is a collection of graded pieces that may be played by students in the yearly NYSSMA solo festival. NYSSMA is also a major factor in the music education curriculum in New York State. The present NYSSMA manual’s lack of diversity and opportunity for composers that are typically underrepresented in classical music, such as women and people of color, is alarming. A subtle, yet purposeful theme of exclusion is continuous throughout the entire manual.
We will find and categorize diverse works for violin, viola, cello, and double bass based on NYSSMA’s ratings for difficulty and present it to NYSSMA and the Crane School of Music. Our work is scheduled to be presented at the NYSSMA All-State Conference in Rochester in December 2021. At Crane, we will hold a lecture recital for faculty and students interested in learning about increasing diversity in string music.