The lack of diversity on classical music stages has created a perpetual cycle of exclusion, where aspiring musicians of color must overcome barriers at every step of the way, from prohibitive costs of lessons and instruments to implicit bias during auditions. Not to mention the profoundly discouraging reality that many musicians of color face when attending their first classical performance — looking up at the stage and being unable to spot a single player who looks the way they do.

At 6 p.m., Thursday, March 10, Aaron P. Dworkin will present the 2022 Paul R. Jones Annual Lecture, speaking on "Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice in the Classical Music" in the Gore Recital Hall of the Roselle Center for the Arts. The event also will be streamed on UD Live.

Dworkin is founder and president of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, which supports and encourages diversity in classical music and other arts across America. Sphinx’s four program areas – Education and Access, Artist Development, Performing Artists, and Arts Leadership – form a pipeline that develops and supports diversity and inclusion in classical music at every level.

The event, hosted by the Visual and Performing Arts sub-committee at UDARI and the School of Music, will include a performance by five UD music graduate students playing "Strum," a composition by African American composer Jessie Montgomery and Adrienne Harding, music admissions coordinator, UD School of Music.

Register for the event here.