Producing the choral canon: a critical analysis of the Iowa large group chorus state-mandated repertoire list in 2024

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA)’s Large Group Festival Required Literature List is representative of a diverse array of repertoire choices for practicing choral directors in the state of Iowa, representing a variety of gender identities, races/ethnicities, languages, musical styles, historical periods, and religions. To that end, I conducted a descriptive statistical analysis of the list. For each of the 1159 unique pieces on the list, I indicated composer/arranger gender identity, composer/arranger race/ethnicity, text language, religious affiliation, and musical style/historical period.

Results of the study showed that the vast majority of pieces were composed/arranged by white, cisgender men, used Western languages, had affiliations with Christianity, and were written in a Western art music style. Cisgender men composed 92.15% of original compositions. Cisgender men also arranged 91.79% of choral arrangements. White composers wrote 95.63% of original and arranged 88.81% of choral arrangements. 58.50% of pieces had affiliations with Christianity. English, Latin, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, or Russian texts comprised 98.5% of pieces. Western art music comprised 83.35% of pieces. Only twelve pieces, or 1.12%, were either International Folk music or World Music. All of the most represented composers (more than 10 compositions) and arrangers (more than 5 arrangements) on the list were white, cisgender men.

Keywords: Choral Repertoire, Representation, Music Education, Iowa, Diversity