The Pasadena Symphony Association is committed to achieving racial equity and cultural diversity in our organization and our field requires commitment from leadership at all levels. This is a standing commitment that has been cultivated over time, with the understanding that achieving diversity is a long-term strategy to foster a more open, welcoming, and inclusive organization.
The Pasadena Symphony Association strives to create a sense of belonging by providing broad access points to the world of symphonic music through our concert presentations, community engagement activities and educational programs. We are committed to racial equity, and to fostering an environment of inclusion at our concerts, in our education programs, among our workforce and on our Board of Directors. Within this commitment, we endeavor to be a gathering place where people, regardless of background, feel welcomed to fully participate in the joy of live music. The Pasadena Symphony Association aspires to reflect the broad culture of our community.
The Pasadena Symphony Association pledges to:
- Maintain a schedule of workplace trainings to inform decision-making, recruitment practices and to enhance organizational culture.
- Promote diversity within our Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and staff.
- Promote greater understanding of, and respect for, diversity in our musicians, guest artists, audiences, students, and volunteers.
- Provide greater opportunities for diverse artistic expression through the selection of guest artists, composers, and programming.
- Provide more inclusive access opportunities for musical participation across a diversity of audiences.
The Pasadena Symphony Association has established the following goals to fulfill its commitment:
- Identify and recruit qualified Board of Directors candidates who represent the diversity of our community.
- Engage distinguished speakers who will lead informational sessions for the organization on issues, trends and best practices for cultural diversity, racial equity and inclusion.
- Provide employment and volunteer opportunities to qualified diverse candidates through its recruitment platforms, ensuring broad and inclusive access for community participation.
- Through purposeful research, identify and provide employment opportunities to conductor, guest artist and composer candidates who represent the diversity of our community.
- Research and identify repertoire selections whose subject matter has cultural significance with a focus on meaningful storytelling. During both the Pasadena POPS and Pasadena Symphony seasons, composers, songwriters and arrangers from diverse communities as well as culturally significant repertoire will be included and presented.
- Ensure equitable access for concert participation to underserved communities that currently do not participate due to financial, transportation, or communication barriers.
- Ensure all students in the Pasadena Unified School District (grades 4-12) receive opportunities to participate in our music education programs with no barriers to access.
- Implement consistent communications to culturally diverse media outlets to enable equitable community awareness of the Pasadena Symphony Association program offerings.
- Present an annual free concert to the community, “Music Under the Stars,” at Pasadena’s City Hall; providing an accessible concert experience that is open to all.