Diversity Dilemma With Africa at the top of the political agenda and world music growing in popularity, what is classical music doing to promote diversity? Mia Morris and Paul Cutts find out In 1939, American contralto Marian Anderson was one of the most celebrated classical artists alive, famed across the world for her rich contralto voice and interpretative powers. But it didn't stop the Daughters of the American Revolution refusing her permission to stage a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington DC . Why? Because she was black.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the then US president Franklin D Roosevelt, was so enraged that she resigned from the august committee. Black opera companies soon began forming across the States during this period of revolution and change.

Fast-forward 65 years to January 2004 and the Black Music Congress debate where the pop music industry is charged with institutional racism. Evidence is brought forth testifying to the fact that record companies routinely spend more resources on white artists performing black music than on their black counterparts. Are matters as clear-cut on today's UK classical music scene? We appear to be still at the stage where at any given concert there will be one, possibly two, black faces among the performers in orchestras and choirs – or in the average audience.

On the surface, there seems to be little access for or proactive engagement of black artists.

But is this really racism at work – or is the perceived paucity of black talent within classical music simply because most neither relate to nor aspire to build their careers in the art form?

Whether there's institutional racism in British classical music is unclear but the evidence points to hurdles, of which fierce competition and a lack of clear path objectives are just two.
The Association of British Orchestras (ABO), the Musicians' Union and Arts Council England carry no statistics regarding ethnic minority representation in Britain's orchestras and music-related positions – although a straw poll of their representatives and other industry professionals will almost always prompt the answer ‘not many' or ‘not nearly enough'.

In an effort to address the issue, last year the ABO hosted a high-powered ‘diversity lunch' at a top London hotel. The idea was to introduce black and ethnic minority artists to the chief executives of symphony orchestras.
Although the ABO has not tracked any quantitative results of the meeting, it has been encouraged enough to host a similar gathering in Manchester this autumn, to be hosted by the Hallé orchestra and music director Mark Elder. The ABO has also worked with Decibel, the Arts Council's diversity programme, to explore the issue.
Partnership is the name of the game across many aspects of music inclusion work in the UK . The one-year Gain initiative, which ran from April 2004 to March 2005, aimed at boosting the representation of the country's diverse communities on the boards of key arts organisations.
In its first year, potential board members were recruited from Asian, Chinese, black and minority ethnic communities. Training and professional development was at the heart of the programme, a collaboration between Arts and Business, Arts Council England's decibel scheme and the Mayor of London's office.

Sound Sense, the national development agency for community music, also recognises the challenges facing its constituency. It hosted a special conference in March looking at the issues facing community musicians from Asian, black and Chinese communities. The one-day Step Up development conference attracted delegates ranging from hip-hop producers to an Israeli musician. A lack of visibility emerged as one of the key concerns for delegates, alongside a lack of structure and networking opportunities. There are now plans to create a specific development body to support the work of community musicians from the ethnic groups represented.

One organisation, the Asian Music Circuit (AMC), has already established itself as the UK 's premier touring company for music from all over Asia . Funded by Arts Council England since 1991, it is an independent company with charitable status, whose mission is to bring the best of Asian music to the British public. AMC works with a wide variety of concert and festival promoters in the UK and Europe to produce a range of quality tours each year. It works with new and upcoming artists as well as top-level performers, promoting classical, devotional, folk and contemporary Asian genres. AMC also runs a comprehensive education programme, which includes public work-shops by visiting artists, school projects and the annual Indian music summer school.

Orchestras, too, do their bit to tackle the problem of inclusion, by taking classical music to the widest communities. Manchester 's Hallé runs family workshops with crèche facilities and has a number of community residences. The Hallé is keen that audiences experience a wide spectrum of music and has worked in its home town with Moss Side Youth and also with a sikh percussion group. It culminated earlier this year in Jamming for Hallé, which brought the orchestra together with reggae and sikh music.

The Hallé is working its socks off to develop good relationships with the local community and programme things other than mainstream Western classical music. Much of the work that has reached new audiences has been developed in tandem with organisations such as Arts About Manchester.
Another Manchester-based orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, appointed Jason Lai as its assistant conductor last year. Lai, the son of Hong Kong Chinese immigrants, has directed major concerts for the city's highly visible Chinese community at Bridgewater Hall. The orchestra's current initiative is an African music and arts project.
In the Midlands, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has had an active South Asian advisory panel to advise on long-term music projects for several years. This year the orchestra focused on music of black origin, including programming family concerts for 7-12 year olds. Birmingham is a particularly interesting case study as it will be the UK 's first minority-white city by 2010. Head some 100 miles south, where last year the Philharmonia Orchestra put in place a three-year diversity scheme, following an extensive research programme.