PROTESTRA (protest + orchestra) bridges the divide between advocacy and classical music through grassroots orchestral benefit concerts.
Our new vision for classical music prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, representation, and accessibility.
OUR STORY
First assembled in 2017 and formally incorporated in 2020, PROTESTRA is a volunteer-run orchestra and 501(c)(3) organization. PROTESTRA’s grassroots orchestral benefit concerts inspire activism by contextualizing classical music performance through multimedia education, and turn voluntary audience donations into targeted support for mission- and policy-driven groups related to the concerts’ themes. PROTESTRA prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, representation, and accessibility in both its hiring and programming practices. Additionally, PROTESTRA maintains a robust social media presence, creating and sharing original content and resources with 8,000+ followers across multiple platforms.
HOW & WHY WE STARTED PROTESTRA
Music can be a powerful vehicle for social awareness and action, but historically, classical music as an institution has been noticeably silent on matters of social justice, including racism, gender discrimination, and systemic erasure and exclusion. Although there has been notable progress on this front over the last several decades, these issues remain stubbornly prevalent in major orchestras to this day. PROTESTRA’s new vision for classical music prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, representation, and belonging in both our hiring and programming practices.
PROTESTRA began in 2017 as a direct response to Executive Order 13769, also known as the "Muslim Ban." Our first concert, #NoBan, musically centered around the positive impact immigration has made on American society and raised over $3,000 for nonprofits that provide aid to immigrants and refugees.
Following our initial success, our founders saw the ongoing need for an orchestral ensemble that actively addresses real-world problems and realized that PROTESTRA was in the unique position to fill that void. We founded PROTESTRA with the goal of speaking out, taking action against injustice, and calling in others to join us in this important work.
WHAT WE DO
PROTESTRA's mission is to highlight important social justice issues through the lens of classical music. We do so by:
-
Organizing and performing orchestral benefit concerts that educate our audiences about these issues.
-
Providing a forum for discussing these issues and empowering musicians to stand up for what they believe in.
-
Raising funds for charities and activist organizations focused on tackling the issues we highlight and advancing social justice.
-
Advocating for and exemplifying greater diversity and inclusivity in the classical music industry through our musical programming, hiring practices, and organizational culture.
Since September 2020, PROTESTRA has held ten issue-centered benefit concerts that reached several thousand in-person and online audience members, raised over $38,000 in audience donations for nonprofit beneficiaries, and provided over $40,000 of paid work to 300+ artists.
OUR HOPE
PROTESTRA is rapidly becoming a recognized thought leader at the intersection of classical music and advocacy. We strive to demonstrate to other orchestras that with intentionality, courage, and compassion, classical music and advocacy can be one and the same. Our driving goal is to become the model of what a 21st-century orchestra looks like and transform the classical music industry one concert at a time.
With your financial support, we can hold orchestral benefit concerts that respond to current events and educate audiences about a variety of social issues. Your tax-deductible contributions will help us produce our community-minded concerts, program works by historically underrepresented composers, compensate our performers, and make the classical music industry an open, welcoming place for musicians and listeners from all walks of life.
