Who has access to a career in Western classical music? Building a tool to evaluate intersectionality in barriers to music education and careers

This article reflects on the “Hiddenness Index” we developed, implemented, and evaluated for Concertgebouworkest Young (Young), the youth orchestra of the Dutch Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Concertgebouworkest) for musicians with “hidden talents.” “Hiddenness” alludes to various barriers that young musicians aspiring to a career in Western classical music may face, due to their social identity and positioning. These barriers may cause their talent to remain underdeveloped, invisible, or undiscovered; that is, “hidden.”The outcome was that Geographical, Socioeconomic, Family networks, Ethno-cultural, and Confidence-support dimensions should form the basis of the Hiddenness Index, which was constructed as a composite indicator. In the second phase of research, the Index was applied to the backgrounds of Young participants.