The Philadelphia-based ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir wove social justice issues into its original mission. With its start coinciding with the social revolutions of the 1970s, the choir performs works by and about women and became the first and longest-running feminist choir in the nation. However, recent social movements prompted the choir to question its internal structures to become more gender inclusive. The choir contended with the meaning of feminism and whether to broaden its conception of gender to include transgender and nonbinary singers. Through a multi-year process, the choir reworked its organizational structure to include a committee on gender inclusion, changed its name and dress code, and sought educational initiatives to address generational differences around the concept of feminism. This study examines the choir’s internal work toward gender inclusion and invites readers to weigh decisions around vocal parts due to the choir’s new inclusive practices and consider
whether such decisions depart from the original mission of the choir. The case concludes by asking readers to establish a long-term plan that keeps the choir focused on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In any television and film production, music is an essential part of the final release. A lead composer is usually credited for scoring the production and often receives assistance from one or more “secondary” composers, whose contributions to the project may not be fully acknowledged on-screen. This case explores the relatively opaque industry phenomenon of secondary composing. Historical and contemporary examples of the practice are presented, as well as the rationale for composers to accept this work. Various forms of credit and compensation are further explored. The case concludes with a scenario involving an unseasoned secondary composer’s contract and responsibilities writing music for a primetime television show.

The Amherst Early Music Festival is the largest presenter of early music workshops in North America, attracting students and faculty from all over the world. Its dedicated staff and vibrant work-study program have ensured a positive experience for attendees since 1980. When special accommodations were made for members of teaching faculty who wanted to bring a child and caregiver to the festival, news of this arrangement spread positively across the festival, and other faculty and staff took advantage of complimentary lodging and meals for families and caregivers. The case builds toward the question of formalizing a policy for family accommodations and the effects such a policy might have on attendees of the Amherst Early Music Festival.

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra has been enriching the lives of the people of Sioux Falls and the wider part of the state since it incorporated in 1965. Its community engagement work in particular has been recognized among symphony orchestras across the United States. Comprising 10% of the population of South Dakota, Native American communities have been central to the orchestra’s efforts to connect with the state’s broad public. This case surveys the inspiration and phases of the Lakota Music Project, initiated by Delta David Gier, Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. The Lakota Music Project is then set in the context of other programs under the umbrella of “Bridging Cultures.” A recent grant to support training prompts new questions about the organization’s past and future.
This case study is a collaboration of the League of American Orchestras and the Eastman School of Music.