Effects of Implicit Bias on Perceptions of Orchestral Conductor Competency and Ensemble Expressivity: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study examined the effects of implicit bias on collegiate orchestral musicians’ perceptions of conductor competency and orchestral expressivity, looking specifically at whether conductors’ racial identity influenced participants’ perceptions of conductor competency. Participants ( N = 31) were collegiate musicians who viewed recordings of three conductors (one White, one Black, one Asian) conducting a collegiate string ensemble through an excerpt of Whitacre’s October. Conductors were matched on age, experience, dress, and level of expressivity, and each video featured a front-facing view of the conductor and was synchronized to an identical audio stimulus. Participants rated each conductor’s competence and the expressivity of the orchestra on a 10-point Likert-type scale. Participants also answered open-ended questions related to why they assigned conductor competence and expressivity scores to their lowest-rated conductor. Results revealed a significant main effect for conductor race with the Black conductor’s competence rated higher than the White conductor. Furthermore, both the Black and Asian conductors’ performances were rated higher in ensemble expressivity than the White conductor. Analysis of open-ended responses revealed that poor clarity of gesture and insufficient engagement with the ensemble due to perceived lack of score knowledge were the two most salient reasons.