InfoGuides: Diverse Voices in Music Scholarship and Repertoire: Organizations

Join the Mason Musicians of Color!

The Mason Musicians of Color is a supportive organization for students of color in the music school. Please click here for more information and to join!

Professional Associations

There are many local and national organizations that support historically ignored communities in music. Other national organizations have committees, pages, and resources for specific communities. Check out your own professional organizations to see if they have such groups or committees. If not, it might be time to start one!

American Musicological Society Committees
The American Musicology Society has the following committees focused on diversity and equity: Committee on Race, Indigeneity, and Ethnicity; Committee on Cultural Diversity; and Committee on Women and Gender
Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss
AAMHL seeks to create opportunities for adult musicians with hearing loss to discuss the challenges they face in making and listening to music.
International Society for Music Education: Decolonising and Indigenising Music Education Group
The mission of the DIME SIG is to promote music education research, practice and partnerships for and with Indigenous communities.
The LGBTQ Study Group of the American Musicological Society
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Study Group is a recognized special interest group of the American Musicological Society. Our objectives include increasing awareness of sexuality and music in the academy, promoting contact among music scholars working in LGBTQ studies, and establishing a forum for the presentation of such research.
Mason Musicians of Color
A supportive student organization for students of color in the George Mason University School of Music.
National Association for Music Education Special Interest Groups
NAfME has a special interest group for educating students with disabilities. Their Gender and Sexuality group provide leadership advocacy, professional contacts, and a strong research agenda for gender researchers in music education.
National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music
The National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music (NASPAAM) is an organization whose purpose is to further the development and dissemination of African American music through advocacy, education, and performance.
National Association of Negro Musicians
The National Association of Negro Musicians is concerned with the performance and preservation of uniquely African-American music, while acknowledging and providing opportunity to the Black composer and performer.
Society for Ethnomusicology Committees and Groups
SEM has a committee for equity and inclusion, and multiple special interest groups dedicated to international music cultures and to Disability and Deaf studies.
Women in Music DC
Women in Music DC is a chapter of WIM that is dedicated to fostering equality in the music industry through the support and advancement of women.

LCC's, Non-Profits, and Advocacy Groups

Many non-profits and companies support the work of historically ignored groups through building communities, funding arts projects, and offering education. Investigate these types of companies by researching their founders, values, and funding.

Asperberger/Autism Network Artist Collaborative
The AANE Artist Collaborative is a vibrant Community of artists (over age 18) who identify as being on the autism spectrum. Numbering more than 100 members, our artists are located all over the US and beyond.
Can Do Musos
The mission of Can Do Musos is to provide guidance and hope to all musicians with challenges and disabilities.
Decolonizing th Music Room
Decolonizing the Music Room is a nonprofit organization using research, training, and discourse to help music educators develop critical practices and center BBIA (Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian) voices, knowledge, and experiences in order to challenge the historical dominance of white Western European and American music, narratives, and practices. They regularly post videos and blogs from music educators of color.
Diversify the Stage
a network of industry professionals and community engagement organizations collectively working to build a culture of accountability to establish more inclusive hiring practices and greater access to equitable opportunities in live music, events, and touring industries.
GALA Choruses
GALA Choruses leads the North American LGBTQ choral movement. They cultivate the artistic development of 10,000 singers from more than 190 choruses in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The Musical Autist
Our mission is to provide access to the arts and platforms for self advocacy for musicians of all ages and abilities on the autism spectrum. Our vision is to create places online and within the community where neurodivergent musicians and artists are celebrated and accepted, through venues where there is opportunity to work, perform, and build relationships.
My People Tell Stories
My People Tell Stories was started based on the premise that people of color need to tell and interpret their own stories. We provide services in arts education, including professional development for teachers, artists, and researchers who seek to center diverse, inclusive, and equitable practices in their work.
A Seat at the Piano
A Seat at the Piano promotes and advocates for the inclusion, study, and performance of a more equitably representative body of piano works. Their website includes a database of both living and deceased composers of diverse backgrounds.