Class and Gender Inequalities in the Recruitment of Classical Musicians: Reflections on the Case of Italian Music Conservatoires

CASULA, CLEMENTINA

2023-01-01

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Abstract

As legitimized organizations for the vocational training of musicians, Conservatoires are privi-leged sites for exploring inequalities and exclusions within the classical music profession. Drawing on the author’s research, this chapter discusses the case of Italian Conservatoires, first contextual-izing them in time and space, then focusing on the mechanisms adopted for student recruitment. Being virtually the only comprehensive opportunity for musical training within the Italian system of public education, for long time Conservatoires formally adopt meritocratic rules, but in practice they reproduce social inequalities naturalized over time within the classical canon. The data col-lected show the presence of a class divide in the selection process, taking the form of an urban-rural distinction, and of gender biases. In the recently reformed Conservatoires, placed within the tertiary level of education, these patterns of inequalities have weakened, while new ones have emerged; beyond issues of efficiency, all of these should be a matter of concern for educational in-stitutions, if they are to actively endorse more integrated and equitable labor markets and societies.