Is the Specialty Concert a Necessary Evil?

In continuing our discussion of gender in the composition world, I want to address the specialty concert.  You probably know what I'm talking about--the concert that specifically features the music of one demographic.  For example, recently I went to a choral concert that was programmed as a celebration of female composers and poets.  There are concerts that feature the music of other minority groups in composition, but for now I'm going to focus on the gendered concert, since it fits in well with our current discussion.

First of all, how do you feel about these concerts?  I might be overly conscious of the negative implications, but the specialty concert tends to rub me the wrong way.  To me it's a bit like saying, "Oh, we haven't programmed any works by female composers this year (or perhaps in the last five, ten, twenty years).  Let's take a day out of our calendar and make up for that in one go."  It often comes off as an afterthought, a specialty subset that is divergent from the traditional musical canon.

The specialty concert implies that we still have not reached a period of equality, since such concerts are often "necessary" in order to hear the music of women (or any other minority group) at all.  Furthermore, such concerts could send a message to the public that the music director doesn't feel that the music deserves to be a part of a regular musical calendar.  It's similar to the "separate, but equal" fallacy from the days before civil rights.  Also, the music that is chosen for the specialty concert, because of its isolated appearance, probably carries more weight than it should.  If the music were to be dispersed throughout the year, rather than being featured on one specific day, it would be less likely for an audience member to think, either consciously or subconsciously, "These must be the MOST important women writing music," or, even worse, "These are the ONLY women writing music."

Programming music of female composers throughout the year increases the chances for exposure.  If, for example, John and Jane Doe happen to miss the one specialty concert of the year that features the music of female composers, they might not really get the sense that women compose music on a regular basis.  If, however, the pieces are fully integrated into the musical calendar, people will be more likely to hear the music and will probably start taking the pieces, as well as the composers, more seriously.

I'm no fan of the specialty concert for any demographic.  "Ethnic" concerts certainly are problematic in their own ways, often exhibiting similar pitfalls to the ones mentioned above.  Sometimes, however, people defend specialty concerts by labeling them as a celebration of musical culture, heritage, traditions, etc.--offering a community an event that they can take pride in.  I suppose there could be circumstances where such a specialty concert might be acceptable to certain demographics, but what specific culture would women be celebrating or taking pride in?  The culture of...being a woman?  (If the content of all of the music in a concert addressed female identity, this could be a possibility...but that's really the only gendered cultural pride idea I can come up with).  It seems to me like the gendered specialty concert is highly unlikely to exist as a "celebration," either ostensibly or profoundly, as its fundamental purpose is, more often than not, merely to level the playing field (even though I strongly feel that such a leveling is not possible with a concert of this nature for all of the reasons that I've already discussed).

I do recognize that most, if not all, of the people programming these concerts mean well.  It's definitely better than never programming the music of female composers at all.  I just wish that when planning a calendar year, a music director would shift from doing a specialty concert to incorporating the works of women (and other minorities) throughout the year instead.  Many big name ensembles are already doing this, and I definitely think it's helping to break down the public's gendered perception of the composer (although, far too many of them tend to program the music of one token female composer and leave it at that).  Unfortunately, the practice of integrating female composers into the musical calendar is not something that is adequately trickling down to slightly less-known and more localized organizations.  Although these organizations might not have the same kind of clout as, for example, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, they still affect the public's perception of art music.

What are your thoughts?  Am I being too harsh on the specialty concert?  Or, if you're also not a fan, do you think it's still a necessary evil?

Posted by Natalie