Pull every piece out of your music library, sort the folders by composer, and count. If your shelves look like most of ours did twenty years ago, you'll find a lot of Holst, Grainger, Rutter, Beethoven, and a few dozen gentlemen named John. Those composers earned their spots. But if that's the whole list, your students are getting a very narrow picture of who writes great music, and who gets to.
Why Diverse Repertoire Matters (and Why It Isn't Just a February Thing)
Here's the good news: programming diverse composers is no longer a scavenger hunt. Women composers and composers of color are writing some of the most exciting band, choral, and orchestral music being published today, and many of the historical figures who were overlooked in their own lifetimes are finally being performed, recorded, and printed in school-friendly editions.
This matters for a simple reason. Kids notice who's on the program. When a student who has never seen someone who looks like them on a concert program suddenly does, something clicks. It's the same principle behind creating a safe learning space for all students: belonging isn't just a poster on the wall, it's built into what we put on the stands every day.
It also matters musically. Composers who come from different traditions bring different rhythms, harmonies, textures, and stories. Your ensemble gets better at reading syncopation, hearing new colors, and playing with genuine stylistic awareness. Diverse repertoire isn't a side dish. It's good nutrition for your musicians.
One caution before we dive in: please don't save all of this for one heritage-month concert and then file it away until next year. The goal is a library where these composers simply live alongside everyone else, in every season and every concert.
Diverse Composers for Wind Band
The wind band world has changed fast in the last decade, and band directors are the lucky beneficiaries.
Omar Thomas might be the most talked-about name in concert band right now. His Come Sunday is a two-movement tribute to the Black church that moves from a hushed, prayerful opening to a full-throated, foot-stomping celebration. Students love it, audiences love it, and it gives your ensemble a reason to talk about how music carries feeling, something we explored in music as a language for emotions. His A Mother of a Revolution! is a high-energy showpiece for advanced groups.
William Grant Still, often called the Dean of African American Composers, wrote for band as well as orchestra. His From the Delta is a terrific way to introduce your students to a historical giant without leaving the band room.
Julie Giroux brings a film and television composer's ear for drama to the wind band. Her catalog is enormous, ranges from middle school to college level, and One Life Beautiful is one of the most heartfelt lyrical works a high school band can program.
Viet Cuong writes music that is clever, colorful, and a little bit mischievous. Moth and Diamond Tide show off a modern approach to texture and percussion that will stretch your players in the best way.
Chen Yi, one of the most important Chinese-American composers of her generation, blends traditional Chinese musical ideas with Western ensemble writing. Dragon Rhyme is a vivid, demanding piece for strong wind ensembles.
Adolphus Hailstork wrote American Guernica in response to the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. It's powerful music with a powerful history lesson built in.
Valerie Coleman, founder of the Imani Winds, is best known for chamber music, but her Umoja has appeared in versions for wind ensemble and orchestra. It's a perfect gateway piece for a woodwind-heavy program.
Keep an eye on younger voices too, including Katahj Copley and Kevin Day, who are writing fresh, rhythmically energetic music that speaks directly to today's students. If you need help thinking through grade levels and fit, our guide to repertoire selection strategies is a good place to start.
Diverse Composers for Choir
Choral directors have a deep, rich well to draw from, especially in the African American spiritual and gospel traditions, along with an exciting wave of contemporary composers.
Moses Hogan practically defined the modern concert spiritual. His arrangements, like Elijah Rock and The Battle of Jericho, are rhythmically electric, harmonically lush, and a staple of honor choirs everywhere. Fair warning: your sopranos will be singing them in the hallway for weeks.
Rosephanye Powell is one of the most performed living choral composers in America. Still I Rise, built on Maya Angelou's poem, is a powerful anthem of resilience, and The Word Was God is a rhythmic tour de force that teaches precision like nothing else.
Undine Smith Moore, a longtime educator at Virginia State, wrote beautifully crafted spirituals and anthems such as Lord, We Give Thanks to Thee. Her oratorio Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
Margaret Bonds collaborated closely with Langston Hughes. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and The Ballad of the Brown King are wonderful entry points to a composer whose work is finally getting the attention it deserves.
Ysaÿe Barnwell, longtime member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, gave us Wanting Memories, a gentle, deeply moving piece that is perfect for building blend and expressive line.
Reena Esmail bridges Hindustani and Western classical music. Her TaReKiTa uses rhythmic syllables from Indian classical tradition and is pure joy to rehearse.
Don't overlook Rollo Dilworth, whose gospel-infused writing and work as a music educator make his pieces both accessible and meaningful. And whatever you program, the fundamentals still rule. Brush up with our article on vocal technique, breath support, and placement before you hand out that first spiritual.
Diverse Composers for Orchestra
Orchestra directors get to tell some of the best "how did we not know about this?" stories in all of music history.
Florence Price became the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony premiered her Symphony No. 1 in 1933. Then, astonishingly, much of her work was nearly lost until a trove of her manuscripts turned up in an abandoned house in St. Anne, Illinois, in 2009. Students are always amazed by that story, and her music, full of spiritual-inspired melody and Juba dance rhythms, backs it up.
William Grant Still appears again here because his Afro-American Symphony was the first symphony by a Black American composer performed by a major U.S. orchestra. Still also became the first Black man to conduct a major American orchestra. That's a lot of firsts for one bio.
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a virtuoso violinist, champion fencer, and celebrated composer in 18th-century Paris, working at the same time as Mozart. His violin concertos and symphonies are graceful, sparkling, and ideal for string programs exploring the Classical era.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a British composer of Sierra Leonean descent, was an international sensation around 1900. His cantata Hiawatha's Wedding Feast was once one of the most performed choral-orchestral works in England, making him a great bridge between your choir and orchestra.
Among living composers, Jessie Montgomery is a must. Starburst is a short, dazzling piece for string orchestra, and Strum weaves folk-inspired plucking into gorgeous texture. Carlos Simon, who has served as composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, writes music that is socially engaged and emotionally direct. Gabriela Lena Frank draws on her Peruvian heritage, and her Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout is a vibrant favorite. And if you want guaranteed audience applause, Arturo Márquez's Danzón No. 2 is Mexican dance music at its most irresistible.
How to Program Diverse Repertoire Well (Not as a Token)
Knowing names is step one. Programming them thoughtfully is where the real teaching happens.
Start by choosing music because it's good music that fits your ensemble, not just to check a box. Students can smell a token piece a mile away. When you plan your season, try building diverse composers into every concert rather than clustering them. Our article on programming your concert has practical ideas for balancing difficulty, style, and audience appeal across a program.
Tell the story. A two-minute introduction from the podium about Florence Price's lost manuscripts or the history behind American Guernica turns a performance into an experience. Better yet, have students research and deliver those introductions themselves.
Be thoughtful about older repertoire, too. Some pieces in the traditional canon carry stereotypes we can't ignore, and it's worth reviewing your library with fresh eyes. We dug into that tricky subject in They Wrote That? Racist and Stereotyped Music in Our Libraries.
Go looking beyond the publisher's catalog. Online databases such as the Institute for Composer Diversity let you search by voicing, instrumentation, and difficulty, and they're a goldmine for busy directors. Social media groups for band, choir, and orchestra teachers are another great source of recommendations from people who've actually rehearsed the piece.
Finally, consider commissioning. Many of today's most exciting composers are early in their careers and eager to write for school ensembles. Pool money with neighboring schools for a consortium and you can bring a brand-new voice to your students for surprisingly little. Our tips for commissioning a piece of music walk you through the process.
The Bottom Line
You don't have to overhaul your entire library by spring. Pick one composer from this list for your next concert. Listen to a few recordings, order a score, and tell your students why you chose it. Then do it again next semester.
Over time, your folders will start to look more like the world your students actually live in, and your concerts will sound richer for it. Your students deserve to see the full picture of who makes great music. And who knows? The next name on someone's list of important composers might be sitting in your third clarinet section right now.
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