Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Dickerson.
Hi Charles, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am the founder and serve as Executive Director and Conductor of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. This orchestra has been in existence since June 2009 when nine African-American high-school-aged musicians asked me to help them establish a youth orchestra in the community where they live. We now serve approximately 125 youngsters every year, presenting a series of 8-10 free concerts throughout our community that culminate with a Season Finale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall every July.
I am fortunate to have been born into a family where music and music lessons were a high priority. My father was a choral director; my mother sang in the church choir. Both of them played the piano, and my eldest brother is a professional jazz pianist. So, I came into a home where music was everywhere.
I began college as a music major but got diverted into the practice of law. But even through my 30 years of practice, I have always been engaged in music. I began piano lessons when I was 3; I played trumpet in my school bands starting in 5th grade; I started conducting church choirs when I was 21 (and I am now 71); and I started directing orchestras seriously in 2004 when I accepted the position of Conductor of the Southeast Symphony.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The primary challenge that I found in the pursuit of a career as an orchestral conductor is the fact that I am African-American. African Americans comprise only 1.8% of the orchestral workforce even to this day, and the number of African Americans who have been able to form a career from conducting is even less than this. Moreover, while things have slightly improved from the time I was a young, emerging musician, it is still a major challenge for a person of African heritage to be seriously considered to be a conductor of a major symphony orchestra. Because of this challenge, I diverted from pursuing a career on the podium to a career in the courtroom. So, I think it is fair to say that the fact that I am of a race that is not regarded as serious in the orchestral world has caused the road to not be as smooth as I would have liked it to have been.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an orchestra conductor and administrator. As an administrator, I oversee all aspects of orchestra production. This includes recruiting and nurturing young musicians to join our orchestra, preparation of the orchestra to perform by selecting and teaching it the music that we will play at any given concert, arranging for venues for us to practice and perform, arranging for appropriate publicity,
As a conductor, I conduct rehearsals and performances. This requires that I decide what music will appeal to the audiences that attend our orchestra’s performances, obtain the score and parts, study them so that I know the music better than any member of my orchestra, and then teach the orchestra the music and present it in concert.
I am mostly known for leading/conducting the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.
What I am most proud of is the success of the youngsters who become a part of our orchestra. Most (about 98%) attend and complete college. Most do not pursue music as a vocation – primarily because of the challenges that exist relating to African Americans winning auditions in American orchestras. But most become successful in the disciplines that they pursue, and many of them return to our orchestra during and after finishing college to continue to play with us. This attests to the importance of our orchestra to the development of the lives of the youngsters we are honored to serve.
What sets me apart from others is that I have created a youth orchestra in the midst of an African-American and Latino community that primarily serves youngsters from those communities. There is no other orchestra anywhere that lives and breathes – exists – in a community whose principal residents are Black and Brown. This sets me and us apart.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
This depends on how you define risk. I think of risk as being closely related to opportunity. Risk is merely recognition of the challenges attendant to an opportunity and then making the decision to confront and overcome those challenges.
It is likely true that many will not pursue an opportunity when they become aware of the challenges that may be attendant to the opportunity. This is regrettable because many of life’s greatest fulfillments are realized when one confronts a challenge and overcomes it, particularly if it is related to an activity that one enjoys.
Some regard the creation of the orchestra that I am privileged to lead as a risk. Perhaps it was. But we have grown from nothing to become what is now a multi-million dollar non-profit that is among the most successful enterprises of our community. If this was or is risk, then I can only say that it was well worth taking!
Pricing:
- Generally no. We present 8-10 concerts each year. All of them are free except our Season Finale. We have tickets prepared for this one concert, and we sell them at prices that our patrons can afford.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.icyola.org
Image Credits
Gregory L. Moore
