At ACDA Western Region, we affirm that:

• Communal singing is an essential part of education, and all people deserve full and equitable access to high-quality music education, including choir. We recognize that singers of all ages have been implicitly or explicitly excluded from choral singing by nature of who they are. Nonetheless, we assert that all people deserve to belong to a choir where they are celebrated and affirmed, without restraint or reservation. We reject discrimination due to someone’s real or perceived race, ethnicity, gender presentation or identity, income or socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, body size, ability, country of origin, language, age, or religion. We work to expand access to choral music for all people. 

• All forms of singing in community offer valuable insight into the nature of human relations and history, and are worthy of study and performance. We acknowledge that choral practice has, at times, over-emphasized the study and performance of music from Western Europe at the expense of global song traditions, but we joyfully affirm the value of historical and current singing traditions from around the world, including marginalized traditions from the United States. 

• We strive to cultivate a community where all people feel safe, valued, and respected. Hate, oppression, and identity-based violence in our communities compromise the possibility of meaningful, transformative choral music education and community music. We stand against the harms of racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, all forms of religious intolerance, classism, ageism, ableism, xenophobia, fatphobia, and all systems of harm that work to divide or target people based on their identity. 

• Everyone benefits when the arts and artists are supported and provided with adequate resources. We support equitable distribution of resources to music education and choral programs at all levels, and believe in fair and ethical compensation for composers, arrangers, performers, and ensembles. 

• Ensuring equity in our classrooms and community ensembles requires discipline, vigilance, and a posture of curiosity and open-mindedness. We pledge to continue learning and growing to respond most effectively to the needs of our students, colleagues, and communities.

Statement updated February 2025