Sinfonietta plans to help minority musicians

Chicago Tribune
By John von Rhein | Tribune music critic
Published January 21, 2008
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The Chicago Sinfonietta has announced a new initiative designed to assist the career development of young orchestral players of color.

Project Inclusion, as the initiative is called, will provide African-American, Asian and Latino musicians with apprenticeships lasting from one to two years. Participants will rehearse and perform with the orchestra, receive mentoring from senior members of the ensemble, attend master classes and mock auditions, and receive job-placement assistance after leaving the program.

Apprentices will receive stipends ranging from $2,500 to $4,000, funded by the orchestra.

The first group of apprentices includes clarinetist DeMarus Allen-Batieste, a senior at Northwestern University; double bassist Christian Dillingham of Duquesne University; violist Andrew Dowd of the New England Conservatory of Music; tubist Takahiro Kim, a Roosevelt University freshman; bassist Brandon Mitchell and violist Stefan Smith, both seniors at DePaul University.

The six musicians are scheduled to be announced at the Sinfonietta’s annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday night at Orchestra Hall.

Project Inclusion is a close relative of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Diversity Fellowship Program, whose central mission also has been to give talented minority musicians the experience they need to qualify for orchestral jobs. The program was put on hold this year because no fellowships were awarded, said a CSO spokeswoman.

Project Inclusion was developed in partnership with Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, the DePaul School of Music, Northwestern University School of Music, Georgetown College in Kentucky and the Chicago Federation of Musicians.

A recent study by the Juilliard School of Music revealed that less than 3 percent of the players on the payrolls of 1,000 U.S. orchestras are non-white musicians.