Discussion Panel: Page 24

In reply to Afa’s Day 3 post: If, as a minority, one never sees themselves on stage, hears themselves from the audiences, communicates with anyone who resembles them from orchestra administration, how might we go about that idea of having orchestras become part of their communities? Each of us can only speak from our own […]

On Day 3, Alberto detailed the public relations efforts of his orchestra on behalf of a newly hired colleague. Although I appreciate the example of individual hires in individual orchestras, such as Damon Gupton who I know from Juilliard as a theatre student, my point was about the entire industry. The Phoenix Suns’ touting the […]

Quote from Aaron Flagg: Quote: As far as celebrating goes, Canadian Steve Nash has been the NBA’s MVP for two straight years. African-American Grant Fuhr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 and is ninth on the all-time wins for goalies. I call that celebrating diversity. By the way, how exactly does […]

I’d like to re-visit the idea of diversifying the repertoire in order to attract certain groups. I think the sophistication of the ethnic (or age!) groups is far beyond the basic idea, however, would it not be fair to say that if one, as a hypothetical representative from the Hispanic community, never hears any music […]

Thanks to Aaron for his helpful response to my Day 2 post. I want to make sure that the issues I raised in my statement are not misrepresented because of a lack of clarity on my part. The “war story” I cited was not meant to compare traditional Mexican music to symphonic music (though in […]

In reading the opening statements of my fellow panelists, I think it’s interesting to note that the symphony musicians seem to be much cooler to the idea of adding affirmative action to the audition process than those panelists not currently in orchestras. Let’s not forget that winning a job in a full-time orchestra is one […]

In reading through the comments of my colleagues and Ann’s wonderful introductory statement, I sense that this a great opportunity to look at many facets of this issue. I must say having more brass players involved is always a good thing. Some of the aspects that have already been raised include: • The myth of […]

First of all, I am very excited to be part of this Virtual Discussion Panel. Today I will comment mostly on the hiring of new musicians. I am very proud of the audition process in the Kansas City Symphony. We screen all rounds and only meet the candidate once they are offered the position. So […]

My opening statement may be short, not because I have nothing to say, but this is new for me to put down in print. I have been playing in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for 37 years and have enjoyed my time here and look forward to more years. When I came here and auditioned, I […]

Diversity in our nation’s orchestras continues to be an issue of challenge and controversy. Since the 1990s, when the ASOL conducted their inclusiveness studies, the numbers of African-Americans and Latinos in orchestras have increased very slightly, from under 3% combined to less than 4% combined. As an organization which focuses its efforts on building diversity […]