Diverse instrument symphonic ensembles: Making sustainable music amid unsustainable situations

Abstract

Music technology-focused ensembles such laptop orchestras have become mainstays at higher education institutions. Nevertheless, the perpetual innovation inherent in the mandate of such a group presents some unique challenges in the post-pandemic academic landscape. In the post-COVID period of supply chain breakdowns and budget-obsessed administrations, building an ensemble focused on technology may become prohibitively expensive. As traditional music departments struggle with lower enrolment, expanding large ensembles to include a more diverse corpus of instruments would solve multiple problems. Assuming the challenges inherent in starting such groups could be overcome, ensembles that expand their instrumental diversity could allow for innovative study, increase enrolment and even save the host institution much-needed funds. The author groups extant technology-focused musical ensembles into categories by their focus and then proposes a novel category featuring intentionally diverse instrumentation, which may solve many of the problems associated with funding such groups while increasing and diversifying enrolment.