She's Still Sounding: Working Towards Inclusion of Gender, Race, and Intersectionality in Piano Curriculum

Abstract

This thesis addresses the gender-race intersectional inequality in Canadian conservatory piano syllabi revealing that women make up less than 14% of piano music in 20th and 21st Century piano repertoire in Canadian conservatories. By drawing on feminist musicology, critical race, and intersectionality studies, the thesis addresses elements of patriarchy and white supremacy found within specific conservatory repertoire examples. Using the SongData methodology, Adams presents 50 years of data points of gender-race representation in the Royal Conservatory of Music and Conservatory Canada piano syllabi, reporting that white women make up 13.1% of 20th and 21st-century music and Black, Indigenous, and Women of Colour make up less than 0.6%. Piano music by BIPOC women is then leveled and broken down according to conservatory standards and compared to repertoire within existing syllabi. Also included is an original graded syllabus of over 3,000 pieces by women and additional curricular resources for the piano studio.