The choir world has been slowly making progress in diversity but progress nonetheless.

By China Ang

On Nov. 5 I had the privilege of listening to Vox Femina Los Angeles perform in the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. A fitting setting for an equally beautiful experience. Though I can argue that Vox Femina is capable of transporting you to beautiful places while listening to the music they create. Even while performing in a ditch somewhere, I am confident that Vox Femina could have made it work.

As a person who was born in a Catholic country, it is ingrained in my psyche what is acceptable decorum in a church. And yet, words that I know must never ever be said in a church still escaped my mouth in reaction to Vox Femina.

Led by Dr. Iris Levine, Vox Femina is an all women’s choir based in Los Angeles. Chaffey’s Concert Choir Professor, Bethany Encina, happens to be a member of the choir and has referred to Dr. Levine as one of the best directors she’s ever worked with. Along with an all women's chamber orchestra and pieces written by women or for women, my night with Vox Femina was utterly divine.

My night was perfect up until I got to the car with my friend where we sat to reflect on what we just experienced. We agreed that they were beyond good and would love to attend every concert if possible. But being both women of color, it did not take us long to realize that we did not look like much of the people on that stage.

Diversity in the classical music world has been under scrutiny in recent history. It is no secret that the classical music business is not an easily accessible one. In the choir world, that is a reality that I had a front row seat to.

This problem is not specific to Vox Femina. Not even close. Nor is it necessarily their labor to fix it. But who’s job is it? Is it even anyone’s job?

For Chamber Choir this year, we are singing four pieces arranged by David García Saldaña. Saldaña is a Southern-California Chican@ composer, writer, singer and professor and he came to talk to our class only three days before the Vox Femina concert.

Saldaña talked about his pieces, his background and some problems he has seen with diversity and the classical world, more specifically, the choir world. I reached out to him later on and asked him for advice on how to balance that tightrope of enjoying a performance, longing to be on that stage too but then facing the fact that I did not look like anyone on stage and doubting whether or not it was possible.

“It’s paradoxical thinking: being able to validate two conflicting thoughts. We can’t change how things were, but we can start to affect change to create the world we want tomorrow. We live in today, where people like you and I can take up the opportunity to change,” Saldaña stated.

He added, “I tried to communicate that in my visit: equity efforts (affording public education, community outreach, compositional voices, programming, etc) are slower efforts that then invite a more long lasting and authentic change to the diversity landscape.”

Saldaña does his part in helping with the discrepancies in diversity in the choir world and in some ways, so does Vox Femina. Amongst the nine composers and writers highlighted that night, B.E. Boykin was one of them. Boykin is an African American composer prominent in the choir world and someone I was lucky enough to get an autograph from.

Perhaps all I need to do is wait. Wait for these little seeds planted by people like Boykin and Saldaña to bloom so that I can finally see an L.A. based choir look like the rest of L.A. Perhaps I am one of the seeds that was planted.

Vox Femina LA: by women, for…everyone?