Jordan Randall Smith

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Hidden Gems

Jordan Randall Smith

I’m pleased to share a few “hidden gems” from the orchestral strings repertoire with my fellow travelers on the journey to a big, bold, future for classical music in the schools, one which takes, for the first time, an inclusive stance toward repertoire by composers from every conceivable background. This hand-curated list an addendum to my recent presentations at the 2021 American String Teachers Association Conference and the 2021 NAFME Eastern Division Conference. In my presentation, I discuss the importance of diversity in reflecting the broadest possible collection of global musical voices in concert literature. I then identify the problems we face in the industry: our repertoire is still overwhelmingly dominated by a tiny handful of dead white male composers. This problem can be inferred from anecdotal experience and by drawing upon prior statistical analyses of vertical and horizontal neighbor ensembles: professional orchestras and school band programs. Many thanks to individuals such as Christian Michael Folk as well as the researchers at the Institute for Composer Diversity.

Building on that problem identification, I offer several routes to avoid the pitfalls of over-reliance on publishers, music shops, and prior training for a fairer survey of available literature by non-male and/or BIPOC composers, among others. I identify six types of “hidden literature” - or literature that many public school directors and youth orchestra conductors may not have at their fingertips:

  1. Unpublished and/or self-published music.

  2. Published music that is not adopted by any or almost any state music list.

  3. Works which only slightly alter or augment a standardized instrumentation

  4. Unpublished and/or self-published arrangements.

  5. Published but unusual-to-obtain music.

  6. Published but ungraded music.

In the talk, I discuss and play several works with score examples to help stimulate interest in works worthy of consideration. I also talk about some of the added difficulties that come up when we stray too far from the prescribed pathway to repertoire (state lists, publishers, into students’ hands).

Listed below are terrific titles, organized by approximate grade level, which are well worth the time and effort to acquire and perform with our students, despite some of the headwinds mentioned above.

I don’t tackle grades 0.5-1.5 in depth. Beginner instrumental works are a specialized category of repertoire with unique issues which deserve special consideration. I also avoid attempting to provide a comprehensive list of extended works meant for professional orchestras, of which there are many. However, by utilizing a grade 6 category, I attempt to offer a few directions that directors of advanced student ensembles might consider investigating, sometimes with the intent that individual movements may be appropriate for younger groups. Many 20th and 21st century works go far beyond the difficulty level represented here, and these works are likewise excluded.

Below is merely a first pass at developing a more complete repertoire of music for strings suitable for student performance. My hope is that the day comes when every grade level has dozens of high-quality, easily-accessible titles from which to choose, beyond the music of a mere handful of canonized composers from a less egalitarian era. The links mostly point towards ways to access the music. This may simply come in the form of a purchase link, but it may not. Some works may require a different workflow than some might find typical.

Importantly, I have used a highly informal process for assigning grades to works which lack them, to provide some bare context for the music. In cases where a recognized state entity such as the Texas UIL has offered a grade, I have added them to same. We all know that the process for assigning grades is itself fairly speculative and subjective, but it helps to put some of the ungraded works in the ballpark. Consider also investigating works that neighbor the level of difficulty you are searching under.

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6 and/or extended Works

Resources