STEVEN MEAD, EUPHONIUM BFM
a compilation of posts
November 10, 2023
(This is a comment I left on my own share of Steven Mead’s jury photo above. He blocked me shortly thereafter, so that my comment would not be seen well.)
This is my commentary from two posts ago:
This one arrived in my DMs this morning. The comments were especially troublesome but maybe people don’t realize how so, so I figured I would share my response to the basic tenor of these comments in support of an audition committee comprised of all white men.
To the comments which fall under this category:
What’s the problem with these guys? They are all good. It’s not their fault. Diversity is not the priority here, quality is.
The problem is not with how they play or how nice they are, you are right! The problem is that they are here because their lifetime achievements have been the result of a systemic leg up on the basis of their gender and race at nearly all times. The problem is that when we see women excluded, one can be assured that sexual misconduct is somewhere nearby. The problem is that there are others who are equally gifted who could be here but are not. The problem is that a Big Fancy Institution such as Royal Northern College of Music makes this possible and that the men in the photo see fit to celebrate it without any acknowledgment of who is missing and why. The problem is that having a group of idols or people in charge of making decisions about other people’s lives without any diversity whatsoever sends a terrible message to applicants, but also is subject to the biases I will describe below. To say “quality” is the only issue here implies that quality is not associated with other races and genders, and that is something which has been proven time and time again to be the (sometimes subconscious) viewpoint of most people, especially white men.
To the comments which fall under this Bro-y supportive comments from BFM such as “heroes/legends/amazing/hell of panel/I want to come”
By ignoring the problematic imagery, actually by the opposite of ignoring—by publicly supporting it in your "friendly" way—you reinforce the idea that this is okay, this is acceptable, and this is how things should be. You might assuage your own guilt for participating in similar white-men-only or men-only events, but people who are not white and people who are not men absorb the harm of this commentary.
To the explanation from the BFM photographed and celebrating themselves that this is okay because the applicants are 50% women, some of whom will be leaders in the future:
Implying that there are no women leaders now is myopic and reveals your biases, which should not exist on an all-male committee judging women. A significant difference between applicants and jurors is the enormous power discrepancy between the two. You say you hope you don’t “look intimidating.” Well, how do you think you look to an applicant who is not a white man? You explain away the all-male gender here, but what about the fact that the jurors are also all white? Is this not also problematic, or is it just that you don’t have a band-aid of an explanation for that one?
November 10, 2023
I shared this post of Steven Mead's about an hour ago and have since been blocked. You can still read my commentary I made with the share two posts ago. I also left a comment on his post (very offensive, you can see my screenshot of it here) which was deleted. These questions are so very offensive to some. Why? Royal Northern College of Music, do you have any answers?
Look how Mr. Mead responds to the most mild of criticisms from his female colleague. This is what we are up against. Blocking and tone policing for just saying, hey, there is a problem with this imagery.
November 11, 2023
Post by Michael Fahrner in Tuba-Euphonium Central
I’d like to invite some discussion about representation and inclusion in our community on the recent Facebook controversy between Steven Mead and Katherine Needleman regarding Steven’s recent photo of him, David Thornton and the other brass faculty at RNCM auditioning prospective students. You can get up to date with what Katherine has shared, and what Steven has not deleted here. Please read it all first, including comments, digest it, and then discuss it:
https://www.facebook.com/KatherineNeedlemanOboist
https://www.facebook.com/steven.mead10
This discussion is critical because Steven is a significant pillar of the euphonium community with deep ties to the industry on all things regarding education, conferences & competitions, instrument design, music commissioning and sales, & public knowledge of the instrument. Further, Steven is followed by thousands of players of all ages and significance.
Katherine, if you read through her page, is advocating that the men of significance have a responsibility to be aware of their bias and to actively demand the opposite of their community, particularly for representation in shared media. (Not a terribly high standard). Let’s look at some media representation:
In the past year on Steven’s euphonium club*, not counting Misa Mead, there have been photos of only six women holding a euphonium, all part of group photos, and only one woman who was featured because they purchased a gold plated Besson, not for their playing. (Steven of course has deep ties with the development and sales of that instrument) There were more men than I’m willing to spend time counting.
The controversial photo of all men that Steven posted, as Katy Jones shared on Steven’s since deleted post, does not accurately represent the auditioning or accepted students at RNCM. Let’s look at representation of Women in some of the top UK Brass Bands, however. This is the top 6 UK bands from https://www.4barsrest.com/rankings/excluding Brighouse and Rastrick who’s website was down. (Please know that I am making assumptions of binary gender based on names and images, and that some or all these people might define themselves differently).
Cory: No female euphoniums, one female baritone, who I believe is solo baritone, but I have no way of knowing based on their site. (Susan Thomas)
Fodens**: No female euphoniums, one female 2nd baritone player. (Rebecca Childs. Fodens is conducted by Nicholas Childs, a euphonium player, notably not a woman.)
Tredegar Town Band: No female euphoniums or baritones
Flowers: One female second euphonium. (Chen-Yu Lin)
Grimethorpe: Has no members listed on their website, but there is a recent feature of their new solo euphonium player, who is a man. They may have some women on Baritone in one of their press kit photos, but I can’t tell definitively.
Fodens: No female euphoniums, One Women on Solo Baritone. (Ashley Dixon)
That’s 4 out of 24 players. Only 3 of them had public photos on the ensemble websites. Only 2 had bios. None were Solo euphoniums, one of the few seats that lead to notoriety and career in brass banding. Perhaps diversity is improving, but there are no images of it.
This is not much better if expanded to professional euphonium players. Test yourself like this:
Time yourself naming 10 male presenting professional euphonium players.
Time yourself naming 10 female presenting professional euphonium players.
Time yourself naming any non-binary professional euphonium players.
How did it go?
So why does this all matter? It matters because if you’re a man, you can grow up looking at the best and seeing yourself. I certainly did. And if you’re a man you can quickly feel safe in a community, even one that is causing harm to women. I’ve done that too. If you are a man reading this, you probably have as well. It is the responsibility of people who are “in” to make it welcoming and safe for all. You might not be an expert on these issues, like I’m not, but the bare minimum of allyship is expecting all of us to be aware that there is an issue, to embrace the discomfort and fear of these topics, and to not silence challenges. We all win with more discussion and a more inclusive community.
I should add that none of this is to diminish Steven’s performing excellence or accomplishments advocating for the euphonium. Those successes are massive. His reputation as a person is his own business, but he does however owe a greater responsibility to our community due to his massive influence. Steven Mead I wish your health well. Please take time and space for your health, but also time to understand this. I ask that you consider that there might be a better way to handle this that would bring more people together. Let's all win.
Finally, if you are a man, particularly a professional, dropping comments or likes supporting how Steven has handled this, everyone can see you. I wrote this because of you. You should know better.Perhaps spend that energy elsewhere, like building someone up who is not already wildly successful.
(*edited from fan club to euphonium club)
(**The starred band name is incorrect. The band name contains a word often blocked by Facebook. Please click the 4barsrest to see the correct band)