Conductor Clarence Frank’s appointment signals continued change in the classical music world, which has struggled with lack of diversity and representation – and stands in contrast to recent racial controversies in Baytown (Houston), reports Houston Public Media.
Frank remembers first hearing the music of Beethoven in sixth grade.
“I heard all of the instruments just coming together as one,” he said. “I was just thrown into another world, and my imagination just (went) wild.”
His love of classical music led to him to a career as a conductor, music educator and cellist – he’s played in the Baytown Symphony for about 25 years – and in January he was named the orchestra’s new music director and first African American conductor in its 53-year history.
Frank is also the only African American music director of any community or professional orchestra in the Houston region.
His appointment comes at a time when only about 4.3 percent of U.S. orchestra conductors and less than 2 percent of orchestra musicians are African American, according to a study by the American League of Orchestras.
“In the classical music world, or in the symphony world, there’s not a lot of people of color,” Frank said. “So it just means a great deal to me that I was given this chance to show that, you know, we have an interest in this.”
