“The president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras has called on orchestras to increase their engagement with issues of diversity and inclusion,” writes Katy Wright in Friday’s (8/25) Rhinegold.co.uk (Great Britain). “In a statement published on the LAO’s website on 24 August, Jesse Rosen questioned the role of orchestras in this ‘volatile and raw moment’, in which ‘divisiveness and intolerance […] threaten America’s founding principles of equality.… Sustained, deep institutional and artistic engagement in the issues of our time will be necessary… The orchestral experience is most rewarding for all when there are diverse participants … and equitable conduct internally as well as across communities…. Organizations must do the hard work of examining their own behaviors and values, and consider that barriers to diversity and inclusion may lie within.’ … Drawing attention to the League’s Diversity and Inclusion Resource Center, Rosen writes: ‘I hope that orchestras will see this moment as a crucial opportunity to double down on their authentic and meaningful engagement with the issues before the nation and its communities.’ … Rosen [cites] a few examples of what taking action might look like, and [asks] readers to let the League know ‘what you are learning, what you are doing, and what you need to know.’ ”
Read Rosen’s complete statement here.
Posted August 29, 2017
