About the Fair Hearing Project

One of the biggest barriers to the performance and programming of works by underrepresented composer groups (read: everyone who isn't a white European male) is that very few conductors actually have taken the time to study and learn them. Certainly, we can go and listen to these pieces; we can even go check out a score from our local library, pull it up on IMSLP (if they even have it), or watch one of those convenient score-scrolling YouTube videos. But we usually stop short of gathering quite enough information to know whether and how we would like to program a piece.

This said, the main function of Fair Hearing is to force myself--to hold myself accountable, by some scheduled content-delivery--to learn some of this music. Consider it an open study-journal, as I make my way through pieces just the way I would any others. I'm not here to tell you "I like this piece and you should like it, too" any more than I am here to say the opposite. Hopefully, this will provide some useful basis for other curious-minded conductors and musicians to investigate the scores more seriously themselves.

Please question and comment as the project proceeds! I'd love to hear your thoughts on what we discover. I'm looking forward to learning some pieces together!

Keep listening!

Joe