Black musicians launch protest at Kansas City Symphony

We have received this communication from the Black Musicians Network:

Dear Maestro Michael Stern, President and CEO Danny Beckley,

We are the Black Orchestral Network (BON), a community of Black orchestral artists. We love and care about the American orchestral community: from its history and roots, to how it is felt and experienced, to its sustained success and vibrant role in American life.

We are protesting the Kansas City Symphony’s decision to deny Josh Jones tenure. We were stunned when we heard that news. Tenure should not have been an issue for Josh. He is a world-class talent. We cannot say it better than Maestro Stern himself said it in a letter he wrote to Josh in November of 2021: “You are an exceptional talent, and you have already added immeasurably to the performance standard and the communal culture of the Kansas City Symphony. You have already accomplished so much with us… both on and off the stage… And this is not just my opinion–the committee and all of your colleagues support you completely.”

We are distressed. But tragically, Josh’s recent experience bears unfortunate resemblances to the experiences of too many other black orchestral musicians. Black musicians disproportionately have trouble securing orchestral tenure. We know this to be true from both our lived experiences and from the historical record. There’s a long, sorry history going back at least as far as Elayne Jones, the barrier-breaking African American percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony.

When, as with Josh, our playing is not an issue, tenure committees find other, pretextual ways to criticize the way we do our jobs. Much too often, “leadership” or “management” or similar factors become the excuse instead. Black musicians rarely if ever have someone of color on their committee, or anyone trained in recognizing and preventing implicit racial biases, which often compounds problems. We have read the coalition letter separately signed by others and Josh’s statement attached to it. The account they give of the tenure process here is concerning. Regrettably, it is hard to rule out race as a critical factor here….

We suggest two potential pathways forward for the Kansas City Symphony:

Grant tenure to Josh Jones, or

Restart the tenure process for Josh Jones and implement a process that is fair.

Read on here.