panther

<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/case-white-black-panther-orchestra/"></div>When Black Panther was released, it was hailed as “<a href="http://time.com/black-panther/">a vision of unmitigated black excellence</a>,” a landmark cinematic event that celebrated Black culture in an unprecedented way, featuring both a Black director and a primarily Black cast. Showcasing Black excellence and ingenuity, the movie provides an empowering message to audiences: It features strong Black characters that are revered as heroes, an important counternarrative in an industry where Black characters are often portrayed as slaves, drug dealers, or other negative stereotypes. From the warrior T’Challa to the ingenious Black female scientist Shuri, the film is saturated with inspiring role models for Black youth. With its biting social commentary, its occasional digs at colonialism, its historical roots in the Black Power movement, and its powerful portrayal of women, Black Panther is a beacon of Black representation in an industry sadly still <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/movies/hollywood-separate-and-unequal.html">plagued by issues of equity</a>. This positive representation is a powerful thing and audiences have embraced Black Panther for its celebration of Blackness.
Black Panther’s <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/black-panther-original-score/1347332539">musical score</a> has also been garnering a significant amount of attention and critical acclaim, even <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/world-albums/2018-03-03">peaking at #1 on Billboard’s World Album Charts</a>. As a music professor and researcher who has spent time living and studying musical cultures in West and Southern Africa, I was particularly impressed with the deftly composed soundtrack that struck a near-perfect balance between the sweeping cinematic qualities expected of a superhero movie soundtrack and gorgeous African traditional musical elements. Senegalese musician, <a href="http://baabamaal.tv/">Baaba Maal</a>’s vocal stylings transport us to Wakanda, piano, harp, and strings intertwine with the fula flute, polyrhythmic talking drums are complemented by regal brass, and swelling strings are featured alongside West African kora and balafon. Elements of hip hop like <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/8-ways-the-808-drum-machine-changed-pop-music-w453714">the 808</a> are also woven in, adding to the rich tapestry of musical fusion.
The <a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ludwig-goransson-black-panther-original-score/">critically acclaimed</a> score was written by Swedish composer and three-time Grammy Award nominee <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3234869/">Ludwig Göransson</a> and is undeniably a <a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-Ludwig-Goransson-Black-Panther-12731678.php">musical triumph</a>. Informed by the composer’s <a href="http://songexploder.net/black-panther">fieldwork in West Africa</a>, it is an homage to Black musical culture that features a decidedly African aesthetic honoring the voices of the West African musicians that inspired it. It is clear that the issue of Black representation that was so important to the movie Black Panther extended also to Göransson’s musical process and product, a lush and musically complex score that rings with Blackness.
But there is one issue of representation that no one seems to be talking about: The missing Black musicians in the orchestra that recorded the score that embodies the fictional African country of Wakanda.
<a href="https://twitter.com/ludwiggoransson?lang=en">Göransson’s Twitter feed</a> is filled with pictures of the composer working with Senegalese musicians including Afro-pop musician <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKnsXGjlzS/">Baaba Maal,</a> tama player <a href="https://playingforchange.com/musicians/massamba-diop/">Massamba Diop</a> leading a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfXF28TjpFB/">talking drum ensemble</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/ludwiggoransson/status/972722517214482432">Seck family of Sabar drummers</a>, balafon player <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfpE50VDMvY/">Ibrahima Ndir Yoff</a>, and singers <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfgd1SFj9mZ/">Mami Kanoute, Fatima Diop and Cissi Kanoute.</a> He effectively documented the collaborative process that inspired the film’s score and led to the development of a soundtrack in which Black musical representation was a priority.
Interspersed between these rich photos of Black West African musicians recording their unique cultural musical expressions, are pictures and videos of the Western orchestra in the <a href="https://twitter.com/ludwiggoransson/status/970894689241985024">recording studio at Abbey Road</a>: a sea of White <a href="https://twitter.com/ludwiggoransson/status/975110662501187586">musicians</a>. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XtCnGT0B20">Videos</a> reveal only one, or perhaps two, Black musicians visible in the entire 92-piece orchestra. The visual contrast is stark and startling. While great effort was made to center African traditional sounds and native musicians, the obvious lack of Black musicians in the Western orchestra is obvious and disturbing.
This disparity, while startling, also reflects the reality of the classical music industry and the persistent underrepresentation of musicians of color in American symphony orchestras.
<a href="https://americanorchestras.org/knowledge-research-innovation/diversity-studies.html">The League of American Orchestras reported</a> that despite efforts to diversify the field, more than 85% of the nation’s orchestral musicians are White. While the number of Asian/Pacific Islander musicians grew between 2002-2014 from 5.3% to more than 9%, the number of African American musicians employed by orchestras during that period remained consistently around a mere 1.8%.
Many orchestral organizations are concerned with a lack of diversity as evidenced by the range of diversity initiatives they sponsor. Orchestras have utilized diversity fellowships as a means of attracting and supporting players of color, a mechanism which, according to a <a href="https://americanorchestras.org/knowledge-research-innovation/diversity-studies.html">report</a> by the American League of Orchestras, has been successful in providing opportunity but has yet to truly move the needle in terms of effecting broadly measurable change in the representation of Black and Hispanic musicians in American orchestras.
Youth initiatives like the Atlanta Symphony’s <a href="http://www.atlantasymphony.org/EducationAndCommunity/Talent-Development-Program">Talent Development Program</a>, Boston Symphony Orchestra-affiliated <a href="http://projectstep.org/?page_id=7">Project Step</a>, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s <a href="https://www.mydso.com/educate/young-strings">Young Strings</a> program all target young, underrepresented musicians, providing opportunity and support for instrumental music study among minority youth. The hope is that by cultivating a new generation of orchestral musicians of color, the field might start to see a more diverse workforce of musicians represented on professional orchestral stages across the country.
The conversation about minority representation in orchestral music often extends to the field of music education: <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022429411405207">Research has shown that White students are similarly overrepresented</a> in school music ensembles with Black and Hispanic students making up only 15.2% and 10.2% of ensemble enrollment respectively. Certainly, American El Sistema-inspired organizations like <a href="https://www.laphil.com/education/local-programs/youth-orchestra-los-angeles/">Youth Orchestra Los Angeles</a>, <a href="https://peoplesmusicschool.org/">People’s Music School</a> in Chicago, and <a href="http://kidsorchestra.org/">Kids’ Orchestra</a> in Baton Rouge, are increasing access for students in underrepresented communities, but representation of musicians of color is a problem in music education just as it is in our orchestral organizations.
Despite all of these diversity initiatives there remains a persistent underrepresentation of Black musicians in American orchestras and many wonder why we have had so little success in diversifying. To be sure, some might contend that perhaps there simply aren’t enough Black musicians in the classical music business. In fact, the <a href="http://www.chineke.org/our-mission">Chineke! Orchestra</a>, the <a href="http://www.sphinxmusic.org/sphinx-symphony-orchestra/">Sphinx Symphony Orchestra</a>, and <a href="http://www.orchestranoir.com/">Orchestra Noir</a> are three American orchestra that feature Black classical orchestral musicians, demonstrating that there is no dearth of talented players. Black conductors have also taken to the podium, with historical pioneers like <a href="http://www.williamgrantstillmusic.com/">William Grant Still</a>,  <a href="https://www.wqxr.org/story/happy-100th-birthday-everett-lee-trailblazing-conductor/">Everett Lee</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/29/nyregion/henry-lewis-conductor-who-broke-racial-barriers-of-us-orchestrasis-dead-at-63.html">Henry Lewis</a> and more recently, <a href="http://www.roderickcox.com/">Roderick Cox</a>,  <a href="https://www.blackpearlco.org/artistic-director">Jeri Lynne Johnson</a>, and <a href="https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/artist/michael-morgan/">Michael Morgan</a> serving as important exemplars of Black representation in orchestral conducting.
Perhaps the larger problem has to do with a culture of classical music that has historically prized Euro-centric values and a canon created by primarily White men. As British composer <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37702239">Eleanor Alberga asserted,</a> “the classical music world is not very inclusive and I suspect there are wider issues here [related to] unconscious racism and class.” These are long-standing problems that we have yet to solve.
But let’s get back Wakanda: What hope do we have of diversifying classical music if a project like Black Panther, a self-proclaimed celebration and centering of Blackness, completely overlooked Black representation in its orchestra? To have an overwhelmingly White orchestra record the soundtrack to an historically Black cinematic achievement seems an impossible oversight, a travesty, an almost laughable, heartbreaking testament to the unbreakable Whiteness of the symphony orchestra.
Enter <a href="https://www.recollectiveorchestra.com/">The Re-Collective Orchestra</a>, a group of Black orchestral musicians pulled together by conductor Matt Jones to make a quiet, musical statement about the Whiteness of the Black Panther orchestra. The orchestra convened in New York City in March to re-imagine “<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/all-the-stars/1331258584?i=1331258586">All the Stars</a>,” the title track from the Black Panther album. Watching this incredible all-Black orchestra in the studio is like watching the Black Panther Orchestra that should have been, an ensemble of Wakandan musicians bringing the Black Panther Universe to life through song. They complement the beautiful cast of Black Panther, a true Wakandan Orchestra that makes what Re-Collective creators call “a sonically and visually powerful statement: WE ARE HERE.” You can watch and listen to the recording <a href="https://www.recollectiveorchestra.com/">here</a>.
The Re-Collective Orchestra draws our gaze to not just an egregious personnel snafu (the hiring of an almost entirely White orchestra to represent the Black universe of Wakanda) but to the larger issue of diversity in classical music. During a time when diversity is at the forefront of the American consciousness, in the era of #timesup and #oscarsowhite, when people are speaking up on behalf of marginalized and underrepresented groups, it is important to acknowledge that the classical music industry remains far behind in terms of diversifying its ranks.
This case of the White Black Panther orchestra stands as a reminder of just how far behind we truly are. Although Black Panther as an enterprise represents an incredibly powerful step forward in terms of Black representation in Hollywood, peering behind the curtain at the Western musicians behind the score reveals an appalling lack of attention to diversity. We must work toward amplifying the voices of Black artists and musicians, so that we might achieve a truly diverse industry that reflects the rich diversity of our society.
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The Case of the White Black Panther Orchestra

The Case of the White Black Panther Orchestra

Was6212650

<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/music-non-binary-transgender-musicians/"></div>The music gender conversation just got loud. But it is not inclusive enough. Gender parity is also about gender diversity.
Pink, Katy Perry, and Charlie XCX reacted immediately after the recent Grammy Awards to Recording Academy president <a href="http://people.com/music/katy-perry-charli-xcx-grammy-president-women/">Neil Portnow’s suggestion</a> that women step up to be noticed in music, as only one of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/28/entertainment/grammy-awards-winners/index.html">this year’s top awards</a> went to a woman, New Artist of the Year, Alessia Cara.
The comments were days after the release of a University of Southern California study, <a href="http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/inclusion-in-the-recording-studio.pdf">“Inclusion in the Recording Studio,”</a> revealing that only 22.4 percent of artists and 12.3 percent of songwriters were female over the last six years.
Of the nearly 900 artists nominated for Grammy awards since 2013, only 9.3 percent were women. Only two percent of music producers were women. Since the award’s launch in 1974, only six women have been nominated for a Grammy Award Producer of the Year. <a href="https://medium.com/cuepoint/where-are-the-female-music-producers-269dfeac1def">No woman has ever won the award</a>.
Yet while the underrepresentation of women in the music industry is startling, the conversation regarding gender disparity in mainstream popular music completely overlooks one particular group of missing musicians: those who identify as transgender or non-binary.
It is true the individuals in the transgender community have increased visibility in many public arenas. In politics, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/opinion/danica-roem-virginia-transgender.html?mtrref=www.google.com&amp;gwh=47D3C41413077AE0D2A4B3669810EA1D&amp;gwt=pay&amp;assetType=opinion">Danica Roem</a> made history in November, becoming the first openly transgender individual elected to the U.S. State Legislature.
In sports, transgender athletes such as Harvard University swimmer <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-harvard-swimmer-sets-example-other-transgender-athletes-n807986">Schuyler Bailar</a>, U.S. duathlete <a href="http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/page/bodychrismosier/duathlete-chris-mosier-breaking-barriers-repping-team-usa-body-issue-2016">Chris Mosier</a>, American cyclist <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/07/first-female-transgender-pro-cyclist-colorado-classic-2017/">Jillian Bearden</a>, and MMA fighter <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/fallon-fox-transgender-mma-fighter">Fallon Fox</a> have public profiles.
In Hollywood, Jaime Clayton (Netflix’s Sens8) and Candace Cayne (ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money) have joined Emmy Nominee Laverne Cox (Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black) as successful transgender actors who portrayed recurring characters on popular television shows.
Hari Nef, a trans-identified model and actor, made her big-screen debut at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaTrCs4w1cQ">Assassination Nation</a>. Trans-identified professionals are also working behind the camera: <a href="http://people.com/movies/lilly-lana-wachowski-how-transgender-siblings-supported-each-other/">Lana and Lilly Wachowski</a> (co-directors of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">The Matrix</a>  trilogy and <a href="https://www.warnerbros.com/cloud-atlas">Cloud Atlas</a>) are Hollywood’s most visible transgender creative voices.
Even in the historically conservative classical music industry, transgender voices are more visible. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/holden-madagame-glyndebourne-academy-transgender-opera-a8090386.html">Holden Madagame</a> has enjoyed mainstream success as a transgender opera singer and <a href="https://www.out.com/music/2015/6/17/opera-singer-breanna-sinclaire-1st-trans-woman-sing-national-anthem-professional">Breanna Sinclairé</a> garnered attention as the first transgender woman to be featured as the National Anthem performer at a professional sporting event.
Laura Kaminsky’s chamber opera, <a href="http://www.aopopera.org/AsOne/">As One</a>, examining the journey of a transgender woman, portrayed by both a mezzo-soprano and a baritone, has been produced 12 times since its 2014 debut.
And yet, we have seen little mainstream success for transgender popular musicians. To date, no openly transgender musician has ever debuted on the Billboard Charts or won a Grammy Award as a popular music artist.
Some may attribute a lack of visible trans musicians to a dearth of performers competing in the industry. In reality, there is a large community of trans musicians actively creating and performing music, highlighted by <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/7964716/11-transgender-non-binary-musicians-you-need-to-know">Billboard</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/12-trans-musicians-carving-identities/">PBS</a> in recent features on trans and non-binary musicians.
Another explanation for the absence from mainstream recognition may be that it is difficult for trans and non-binary musicians to find a place in the male-dominated industry. Research has shown that males have <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-0110-6">more negative attitudes towards transgender individuals</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-012-0193-8">demonstrate more anti-transgender prejudice</a>, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12147-016-9181-6">are more concerned with transgender women in female bathrooms</a> than their female counterparts.
Perhaps the prevalence of transphobia among males is a barrier to access for trans-identified musicians seeking opportunity in an industry where males are the primary gatekeepers.
It is also possible that for transgender singers, issues of voice that accompany gender transition may influence career trajectory.
As a music educator and researcher at Northwestern University, I have seen firsthand the challenges encountered by transgender musicians as they transition. The voice teaching community has limited access to information and research regarding the transgender voice, which may derail critical vocal training needed to navigate the changing voice and develop the endurance required for a singing career.
Although music education is only one avenue to a career in music, trans musicians have also reported challenges in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022429413498259">school</a> and <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.207-208.0025?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">university</a> music programs, which may deter them from pursuing music as a viable career option. Perhaps music teachers have some role to play in the cultivation of confident and out trans performers.
While we have yet to see an openly transgender or non-binary popular solo musician make the Top 40, there is some indication that is changing. A few musicians have experienced mainstream success before coming out as transgender and transitioning publicly.
Punk rock band Against Me!’s lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender in Rolling Stone in 2012 and continues to be a vocal trans advocate, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/laura-jane-grace-a-trans-punk-rockers-fight-w438533">openly discussing her difficult</a> journey.
Fans did not abandon the band following Grace’s public transition: In 2014, the band found its way back to the Billboard charts with the critically acclaimed album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4f5QFycCas16VVeNNXtJoH">Transgender Dysphoria Blues</a>. Their 2016 album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3lqqdqQPSFFujnoYAQbcKy">Shape Shift with Me</a> also peaked at number 6 on the Billboard charts.
D. Smith, who earned a Grammy Award credit for producing the track “Shoot Me Down” on Lil Wayne’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5BGzOpea6At0Nd7tYtYZOP">Tha Carter III</a>, Rap Album of the Year (2009), came out as transgender in 2016. She did a short stint on Season 5 of VH1’s series, Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta, using the opportunity to <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/d-smith-explains-why-she-wanted-share-her-story-transgender-woman-love-hip-hop-2354031">educate the public about the trans community.</a> She released her first solo single, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/2njYpLxY0MsL0U7UHq4e12">“I’m That Bitch</a>,” in 2016.
In June of 2017, the singing artist who began his career performing under the name Charice <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/07/19/jake-zyrus-talks-changing-his-name-charice-his-transgender-journey/478590001/">came out publicly as transgender,</a> introducing himself to fans and the world as Jake Zyrus. His first single post-transition, “Hiling,” a love song in Filipino, was released in 2017.
Singer-Songwriter Teddy Geiger, who wrote songs for such artists as Shawn Mendes and One Direction and whose 2006 single “For You I Will (Confidence)” hit 17 on the Billboard Charts, <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/teddy-geiger-reacts-to-support-after-transitioning-news/">announced her transition</a> in October 2017. She noted later that she will still go by Teddy but is using she/her pronouns.
The recent rise in visibility of transitioning musicians may pave the way for openly transgender and non-binary musicians to enter mainstream popular music. Further evidence shows that trans voices are emerging from the margins and stepping into the spotlight.
North Carolina’s <a href="https://www.moogfest.com/">Moogfest</a> announced its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/arts/music/moogfest-2018-female-non-binary-transgender-artists.html">2018 lineup</a> which will feature exclusively female, trans, and non-binary musicians. One Voice Mixed Chorus in St. Paul will host the <a href="http://www.onevoicemn.org/performances/season-calendar/events/transgender-voices-festival/">Transgender Voices Festival</a> in April, a gathering designed to “offer a space for transgender and gender nonconforming (GNC) singers across musical genres and cultures to explore our voices and identities, grow as artists, and learn techniques for voice care.”
The self-proclaimed <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/meet-muna-queer-la-pop-trio-on-tour-with-harry-styles-w498786">“queer-identifying band” Muna</a> has been featured in Rolling Stone and played <a href="https://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/guest/muna/3ea70e0628a575bbe0163664f4ff04f6b87c86f2">The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon</a> and <a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/jimmy-kimmel-live/video/featured/VDKA3668172">Jimmy Kimmel Live</a>. The band opened regularly for Harry Styles last Fall, a choice which was hailed as an important step towards a <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7824637/harry-styles-muna-tour-inclusivity-live-music">more inclusive culture of live music</a>. Other trans-identified artists worth noting include NY Rapper <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/2944602/mykki-blanco/">Mykki Blanco</a>, Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter <a href="https://asherbrownmusic.com/">Asher Brown</a>, and Michigan musician<a href="http://www.riedaisies.com/"> Rie Daisies</a>.
To be sure, gender-bending male pioneers like David Bowie, Boy George, and Freddy Mercury found incredible mainstream success with their distinctively androgynous personas for many decades.
Some may mention RuPaul as part of conversations about gender diversity in the music industry, but it is critical to remember that drag performance is a performative art form in which the artist dresses in the clothing of the opposite sex for entertainment purposes. RuPaul is not a transgender musician. The success of these artists, however, demonstrates the fact that the public has embraced artists existing outside of hetero- and cis-normative ideals.
As we take action to rectify the disturbing gender disparity in the music industry, let’s also include trans and non-binary musicians who deserve equal access and opportunity alongside cisgender women and men.
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Music Is Non-Binary: Where Are the Transgender Musicians?

Sarah Bartolome is an assistant professor of Music Education at Northwestern University. She researches inclusion and diversity in music education and the experiences of transgender musicians and is a Public Voices fellow through The OpEd Project.