Hundreds of American classical musicians have signed an open letter « to our fellow citizens » and they are speaking out now « because we are alarmed by the many actions targeting free speech that are being forced on our country, our colleagues and our institutions by President Trump and his administration. » They say: « The freedom to explore and share these perspectives, explicitly guaranteed by our constitution, is in grave danger. We implore all of our fellow Americans to raise your voices with ours to protect these inalienable rights. »
Here is the letter signed among many others by
Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Biss, pianist
Joshua Brown, violinist
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Eugene Drucker, violinist and faculty member at Stony Brook University
Jake Heggie, composer
Jeffrey Kahane, pianist, conductor, teacher
Beth Levin, pianist
Midori, violinist
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
To our fellow citizens:
We, the undersigned, are American classical musicians. Our passion and mission are making music and, in doing so, offering listeners the possibility of deepening their experience and understanding of the world. We are not politicians: We are working citizens who are drawn to music because of its capacity to bridge different viewpoints and cultures, and to connect us through our shared humanity.
We are speaking out now because we are alarmed by the many actions targeting free speech that are being forced on our country, our colleagues and our institutions by President Trump and his administration. Many of our audience members are active in the arts, the sciences, education and government. Every single one of us knows multiple people across different sectors of American society who have lost jobs or face life-altering insecurity due to censorship or retaliatory measures over the past three months. Everyone we know can say the same. We have watched as people have been seized and targeted for deportation for participating in peaceful protest, or for no clear reason at all. We see these actions as a coordinated effort to dismantle our free society.
True freedom of speech – free from both censorship and fear of retaliation – is the bedrock of the American project: It stands as the First Amendment to our Constitution for good reason. We are dismayed that institutions have – whether by choice or for lack of choice – changed their policies in accordance with lists of demands foisted on them by the current administration. We stand proudly with the institutions and individuals who have held their ground in their own ways, recognizing that doing so carries great risk.
As musicians, we work daily within others’ truths and illusions. It is our job to examine all perspectives, even the ones we don’t agree with; the freedom to explore and share these perspectives, explicitly guaranteed by our constitution, is in grave danger. We implore all of our fellow Americans to raise your voices with ours to protect these inalienable rights.
We feel acutely the urgency of our current situation. Democracy is a fragile system, but mighty when used by the people, for the people. If our ability to speak freely – to engage with the world without fear of reprisal – is to stay available to us, we must exercise it now.
