#TBT Diversity Boomerang

In response to yesterday’s post about the Canadian Opera Company (COC) and Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) losing city funding due to a lack of diversity, I noticed some intriguing conversations across social media.

One of the overriding themes was a sense that orchestras are genuinely trying as hard as they can to address diversity and that stated commitment should count for something.

These points made me think about a post here from 4/10/2017 about an interview article with then outgoing San Francisco Symphony (SFS) executive director Brent Assink that appeared in the San Francisco Classical Voice.

Are Audiences A Reflection Or Projection Of What We Want?

Please take the time to read the post and the complete excerpt of Assink’s comments about SFS diversity efforts. But in a nutshell, although diversity was important to the SFS, it was only important to a certain degree.

However, one community that has been out of reach is the African-American community. Assink explains it this way, “we don’t have the resources or the energy, or whatever it is, to slot ourselves into a logical relationship with the African-American community, a relationship built on the kind of cultural tradition we have in other communities. If you don’t have that connection, the effort feels forced; it feels artificial, and then, I think, you’re worse off than if you didn’t do anything at all.”

In Toronto, the local government appears to be measuring that gap in arts funding dollars.