An Examination of Orchestras and Repertoire Performed at the Midwest Clinic From 1990 Through 2019

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine invited orchestras and their selected repertoire at the Midwest Clinic from 1990 through 2019. A majority of invited orchestras (N = 261) were from the United States and primarily consisted of high school musicians. The most performed piece for full orchestra was Symphony No. 8, op. 88 by Dvořák and for string orchestra was Serenade, op. 48 by Tchaikovsky. The most performed full orchestra composer was Dvořák and string orchestra composer was Balmages. The most performed arranger for full orchestra was Meyer and for string orchestra was Dackow. Female composers and arrangers were vastly underrepresented compared with males and a majority of performed pieces conformed to the Western European music tradition. Orchestra directors may use findings from this study as a reference list of the most performed full and string orchestra pieces as well as popular composers and arrangers.