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Atlanta Symphony Discriminates Against the Wrong Skin Color

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Fascinating news from the Old South – from the Marietta Daily Journal:
Who knew that the most important qualification for performing onstage with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was not one’s musical expertise, but the color of one’s skin?
 
Who knew that the defining characteristic of its performances was not the sound it produces, but the complexions of those who grace its stage?
 
Indeed, who knew that those who run the Orchestra were so enslaved by political correctness?
What is all this about?  It seems the choruses are too white.
The pink slip came not because they couldn’t sing well enough and not because they couldn’t handle the material, but because of their complexions. Or in other words, because they were too pale. The student bodies at the two schools are each more than 75 percent white, a fact no doubt reflected in the makeup of the two choruses as well. The two public schools do not pick and choose who attends, but offer education to one and all. Their student bodies, for better or worse (definitely worse, in the eyes of the ASO), are reflective of the neighborhoods they serve.  
The news has gone international, this from the UK:
‘We want the stages of the Atlanta Symphony, whether here, Verizon (Wireless Amphitheatre), or Chastain Park to reflect the diversity of Atlanta,’ ASO President Stanley Romanstein told WSBTV. The move has sparked criticism in Atlanta, with some local residents, including African-Americans, decrying it as discriminatory and unfair toward students at the two high schools. Romanstein said he was surprised by the reaction.  

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  1. There are many thoughtful answers here to be sure.
    I had a situation at a school where I was the new vocal music teacher.  Desiree talks about the opportunity to study music being allocated to the people who can afford it.  I faced a similar situation that did not contain racial boundaries.  The string program was taught at the nearby high school and was considered more prestigious than the vocal program.  The best of the best were chosen for the strings and the remainder got vocal regardless of the student’s wishes.
    I developed a test of sorts that allowed the students and the parents to express their desires and intentions for string or vocal music and then we interviewed all the students.  It was time consuming but I didn’t want the vocal classes to feel that they were the dregs but that they could choose.
    It worked a charm and the students who really wanted to study strings and vocal chose even though they understood that the teachers had the final say.  The strings teacher found her classes to be more willing and appreciative and the vocal classes were equally satisfied. 
    I do believe that money is a big stumbling block.  It was certainly why we could only accomodate 30 out of 120 in a strings program.  Choice is huge.  If somehow, there were a training ground that removed the money barrier at least somewhat, would you not attract a more varied group of musicians?
    You can’t just want to diversifiy but must get programs in place to help diversity be the norm, I think.  Rather than creating bad feelings by expressing a desire even with the best of intentions, why not try to create the climate that invites a more diverse pool of talent to exist?  In my situation, the strings program had run the same way for a very long time and it was hard to change attitudes from administration to students but with perserverance and solid reasoning, it changed and for the better.  Change is an inside job and takes more than wishing and hoping.  

  2. Ah, quotas again raise their ugly heads.  When I was in the ASO Chorus in 1988, there were few people of color in the group.  When I attended  local choral guild programs in my locale, often no people of color sang with the all-volunteer choir.  As we middle-aged folks would say, “it is what it is.”  Furthermore, I would relate to the politically correct, please: GET OVER IT.
     
    A side note, please: Alot of folks are misinformed about the music of fine traditionally black college choirs.  Here in Atlanta, the highly-touted Morehouse Glee Club, Spelman Glee Club, and the Clark Atlanta choir all perform a wide-range of excellent choral music literature, and they do it very well.  The misinformed might think that they limit themselves to ethnic literature.  They do not. Essentially, good college and high school choirs do what I would call “good stuff.”  Location and institutional history have a lot to do with the ethnic nature of the clientele performing. 

  3. That’s a really good point!
     
    There’s a couple of points I can talk about here. Most of what I am talking about might apply to why they might have problems recruiting more minorities to be in their choirs at those schools.
     
    • I still think that a better thing would be for ASO to look at this as an opportunity to help make the choirs more diverse and help them make a recruitment program. Can’t they combine choirs?! I would imagine that on the stage of the Woodruff, the choirs would be combined anyhow.
    • As I mentioned in my post above, regardless of how much Atlanta sells itself as “The New South”, demographics have a huge part in the make up of a school.  I am sure that the schools they turned away do have Black and Latino students (or diversity students, period) in their populations. One thing Atlanta is known for is its being home to a lot of upwardly-mobile, affluent Black people. I’d imagine that there are many upwardly-mobile Black people in affluent parts of town (Buckhead, Sandy Springs, etc) just like there are probably economically disadvantaged White people in Sweet Auburn and the neighborhoods of Greater Atlanta that are NOT associated with being financially successful.
    •  It is often the case that this demographic (succesful Black people) has the strongest sence of cultural pride. Sometimes, that cultural pride gets in the way. For example, often a Black family with a combined income of $200,000 will be the one more prone to insist that their children go to a Historically Black College/University, engage is primarily Black Civic Organizations, go to Black Churches, etc. It’s a pattern of cultural pride that repeats. Thus, when a predominantly (or all) White high school choir attempts to recruit, it’s the cutural pride that keeps them from joining because they think it’s “too White”. Actually, their even being at such a school would be surprising! They’d probably be at a private all-Black school!  It might be the polar opposite if you went to, for example, a young Black high schooler at an innercity school, with a single mother whos done a good job raising them. In that demographic, there’s simply an attitude of being thankful that ANYONE Would take the time to invest in them.  You’ld be surprised! Often, it’s minorities who are ecnomically diasdvantaged that have a greater appreciation of diversity than those in minority groups that have “made it” and gained financial success. I’m sure there’s a Sociology class on it somewhere! 
    • People have to also look at the good side of the story: ASO is trying to reflect Atlanta’s Diversity. But, there’s a different way they can go about it.
    It is certainly a good point to mention that ASO is 97% White. But, that’s where I can talk about who has access to Classical Music Training.
     
    I got the first access to mine about 24 years ago in a free Strings program through my Public School. Once I got in High School and was working,
    I was periodically able to pay for private lessons in Organ, Piano, and Choral Conducting.
     
    That said, we always have to remember that most people who have access to Classical Music training at an excellent level are those who come
    from households with enough income to support paying for private lessons.
     
    While being in ensembles in a school is still some type of “training”, those who go on to get the best training at the best schools usually have had some
    private lessons and coaching.
     
    And yes, it might still be the case that the majority of people who have access to private studios are White.
     
    But, let’s look at other situations.
    If you live in a major city that is known as an “Arts Center” you might have access to training through your Public Schools. For example, Philadelphia
    has the Settlement Music Schools. New York has LeGuardia High School at Lincoln Center. in Virginia, there’s the Governor’s School of the Arts.
     
    There are a lot of “but’s” and we could get into many conversations about many aspects of this whole situation.
     
    A person might have the actual Musician to be involved in some programs, but their grades in academics might not be sufficient. I know that back home in Jackson, Mississippi, there is the public Academic and Performing Arts Complex (APAC). a 12 year old might be able to play through 4 Suzuki books, but if the grades are not what the administrators consider high-enough, they get denied access. But, that’s a program where a LOT of Black students have access to good Classical Music training.
     
    Some people may have heard of the Sphinx organization, which promotes Black and Latino Orchestral Musicians through their competitions and Orchestra, based in Detroit. Supporting when I said above, most of the laureates, though Black and Latino, come from major cities with Performing Arts High Schools in place. ASO is a Sphinx Partner, like many of the Upper-Tier Orchestras.
     
    There are also instances when there are Diversity In The Arts programs are in place, but people simply don’t have the recources to learn about them.
    It’s imperative today that people have access to a computer. Often, young people in minority groups have limited access to the net, and the marketing
    of programs targeting them reaches only a select few.
     
     
     
     

  4. Oh, and the other thing I want to point out is that this “diversity” position on the part of the orchestra management is hypocritical. ASO is 97% white!

  5. “This year, the schools were informed by symphony officials that their choruses are not diverse enough, and that the symphony would be inviting a third, more diverse chorus,” said Cobb County Schools spokesman Jay Dillon.
    I emailed Mr. Romanstein to get his side of the story. Here’s what he said:
    Yes, there is a story not being told by the news outlets, and I thank for your willingness to consider all of the facts before reaching a conclusion.  The media has grossly misconstrued the facts.

    The comments that I made about the importance of our artists reflecting the diversity of Atlanta were made in the context of my talking about “all the public stages of the ASO,” including Chastain (where we present a lot of R&B, older rock stars), Verizon (where we present the ASO, along with Kelly Clarkson and Phish) and at Symphony Hall (where we do everything from film scores like the MATRIX to Beethoven symphonies).  My comments were later quoted in a different context, giving them a very different meaning.

    The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) has a long and proud tradition of inviting talented amateur singers to perform with the ASO.  Our audiences have heard the Young Singers of Callenwolde, Morehouse College Glee Club, Gwinnett Young Singers, and others — all with the ASO. Quality is, and always has been, our primary criterion.

    Four years ago we invited the choirs from Lassiter and Walton high schools to participate in our Holiday Pops concerts.  They did an outstanding job — but these are only two of at least twelve very fine high school choirs in the Atlanta area.  Don’t other choirs merit a chance to sing with the ASO as well?

    Our decision to invite other choirs did not come out of the blue; it was not a surprise.  Two years ago we told the directors from Lassiter and Walton that, after their December 2011 concerts with us — capping a wonderful four-year run — we would welcome other high school choirs to sing with the ASO beginning in 2012.  The Lassiter and Walton directors were very gracious.  They thanked us for the opportunity we had afforded them and their students.  Last February, as part of the launch of our 2012-2013 concert season, we announced that the Grady High School Choir will join the ASO this December for the first time.  We’re delighted to continue our tradition of inviting talented amateur singers to perform with the ASO.

    I regret the widespread misunderstanding over our decision.

    Yours sincerely,
    Stanley Romanstein

     
    Since he did not address the first quote I have at the beginning, I emailed him again for clarification on Mr. Dillon’s statement from Cobb County Schools. Did they actually say this? Is it true? Is it not true? Was there a misunderstanding on Cobb County Schools’ part? No reply.
     
    To lend credence to Cobb County Schools’ part of the story, the musicians of the orchestra seem to have a beef with the way it was handled:
     
     
    I think Mr. Romanstein made a mistake, received public backlash, and all the other quotes in the news article is just backpedalling to save face. While I totally agree with giving other qualified high schools an opportunity, to deny a high school because of race–any race–is discriminatory and deplorable.
     
     

  6. I agree, Julia. Especially at times in our art, it is very difficult to determine “fair.” I especially think that giving other qualified high schools an opportunity is definitely a good practice.
     
    That being said, I am still concerned with how ASO handled this, and as a matter of fact, I believe that Romanstien was backpedalling to save face. From the same news report (which I posted in the news):
     
    “This year, the schools were informed by symphony officials that their choruses are not diverse enough, and that the symphony would be inviting a third, more diverse chorus,” said Cobb County Schools spokesman Jay Dillon.
     
    I think that is wrong. I emailed Romanstein to get his side of the story. I will post his response below. Since he did not address the above issues, I then asked him to clarify that statement by the Cobb County Schools. He hasn’t responded. And to further bring question into the way it was handled, why did the musicians disagree with the management on the issue? (See my post further down to a link.)

  7. Quite interesting. You have to take into account the makeup of the zone that the schools are in as well. There are still “White Neighborhoods” and “Black Neighborhoods”. But, Atlanta is know as being THE city where Black and Minority Professionals can excel. As a matter of fact, as a Black woman who has a career in Traditional/Classical Church Music playing the Pipe Organ, I often say that Atlanta or New Orleans would be where I would end up, because being a Black woman who plays the Pipe Organ and does more Traditional  or “White” Church music is not uncommon in those areas, as it is in my current area.
     
    This situaton is kind of a “Catch 22”, almost what some people might call “reverse discrimination”. The officials want to reflect Atlanta’s diversity and continue showing people “The New South” that Atlanta sells itself as. But, should an All White choir be turned away? Perhaps a program to help them do some minority recruitment should be supported by the ASO?
     

  9. At the very least, this situation as described in the ChoralBlog highlights the excruciating difficulty of trying to be fair to everyone, everywhere, at the same point in time–especially if attempts are being made to right historical wrongs, or address ever-changing social conditions.
     
    Here’s the Marietta newspaper Op-Ed piece being quoted: 

     
    And now this from the more balanced (IMHO) piece that is posted in today’s ChoralNet News section (http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/symphony-says-cobb-high-school-choruses-are-not-di/nRDFf/):
     
    ” “There are at least 12 very talented high school choirs in Atlanta,” Romanstein said. “We gave Lassiter and Walton choirs an opportunity to perform for four consecutive years, and they were marvelous. We think it’s time to give other Atlanta high school choirs, who are very skilled and deserving, their chance to perform with the ASO as well.”
     
    My late sister lived just south of Atlanta, GA, for ten years, and told me horror stories of continuing discrimination, continuing resentment, continuing serious, unresolved issues.  We would like to believe, I guess, that the world of music would be immune from all of that and provide a safe haven for everyone, but alas…
     

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