Reassessing Additive Diversity Measures: Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony in a Brass Audition Context

There is a notable gap in representation of American composers—especially historically underrepresented African American composers—on most symphonic brass audition lists used today. Audition repertoire shapes what orchestral musicians study, and educational institutions also prioritize a nearly exclusively Eurocentric canon to produce audition-ready musicians. As a result, engagement with Black American composers in symphonic culture remains limited. Recent scholarship by Brandon Farnsworth suggests that one commonly used method of addressing this issue—including a requirement that auditionees find and include works by underrepresented composers—further masks structural inequity rather than changing it. In this context, William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony (1934, rev. 1952) represents a compelling and underutilized source of audition material. Dawson’s brass writing meets the technical, musical, and stylistic demands of the established audition repertoire canon. Analyzing selected brass excerpts and drawing on the critical frameworks for canonic evaluation and modification built by Alejandro Madrid and David Salkowski, I posit that incorporating Dawson’s music into the standard audition canon would make a meaningful structural correction to a tradition that has long obscured Black contributions. Such inclusion encourages a more accurate and inclusive understanding of the American symphonic tradition within professional orchestral practice.