That the Orchestra has never before had a Black principal instrumentalist is not unusual. According to the League of American Orchestras, just 2.4% of all professional orchestral musicians are Black, a statistic that has hardly changed in 10 years.
“Classical music has been slow to be representative of the communities that organizations like the Philadelphia Orchestra serve,” said Orchestra President and CEO Matias Tarnopolsky. “Joe’s appointment represents a massive step forward.”
The Orchestra hires its principal musicians through a lengthy audition process spanning months. Tarnopolsky said the first round of auditions is blind, meaning the selection committee hears the musicians playing without knowing their gender, race, or age, and focuses solely on the applicant’s musical talent. Subsequent rounds take into consideration the whole person.
Tarnopolsky called Conyers a “perfect musical ambassador.”
“The main criteria, of course, has to be musical excellence,” he said. “[Conyers] is also the epitome of musical citizenship. With the Philadelphia Orchestra as his home base, he does so much in Philadelphia: in youth and music, in musical advocacy, in education and mentorship.”
In addition to teaching at Temple University and Juilliard, Conyers is the music director of the All-City Orchestra, composed of young musicians from Philadelphia high schools.
In 2007, before becoming a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Conyers co-founded Project 440, a program that develops musicianship in young players, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project followed Conyers to Philadelphia. He recently stepped down as executive director, staying involved as an advisor.
“An orchestra can be a barometer of the communities that they’re in,” he said. “How they look is a representation of those who have access to the resources to be in an institution like the Philadelphia Orchestra.”
