f Editorial: On sustaining and diversifying community music

Issue 18:1 of the International Journal of Community Music includes articles that address diversity and financial sustainability in community music activity. Research by MacGregor and Pitts examines the problem of declining membership in recreational choirs in the United Kingdom and how this may reveal unfavourable attitudes and commitments to diversity and inclusion. The study by Crooke and associates draws attention to disparities in funding and support for practitioners and participants from racialized groups in Australia participating in an intercultural music programme. Allison and associates examine ‘facilitators and barriers to sustainment’ of community choir programming in the United States. Among their recommendations are to explore organizations outside of traditional government arts funders, such as ageing services organizations. Cassman’s study of the Fresh Tracks programme for ‘justice-involved young adults’ in California demonstrates that even when programming is sufficiently funded, participation levels may be low if structural conditions such as location and transportation are not sufficiently addressed. The large-scale study by Castro-Cifuentes and associates demonstrates that, while other motivators may also be at play, musical motivations provide a strong sense of purpose and identity for community music practitioners.