After the announcement of the Buffalo Philharmonic’s Conductor Diversity Fellowship the magazine National Review accused the orchestra of using “racism to combat racism”. In fact, the orchestra solicits applications only from those who « self-identify as members of historically underrepresented groups in American orchestras », which means in clear that no white or Asian candidates are allowed to apply for this job.
The National review writes: « Along with much of our society over the past year and a half, however, orchestras have begun to replace the goal of ensuring ‘equal opportunity’ with ‘equity.’ Wracked with guilt over racial exclusion in classical music in the distant past, many are adopting the strategy of redressing old racism with new racism. In so doing, they risk transforming some of our greatest artistic institutions from unifying meritocracies of mutual respect and artistic excellence into musically mediocre social battlefields. »
Some comments in the debate that has arisen hope that the Buffalo Philharmonic’s restrictive announcement will not be counterproductive for an orchestra that has made many efforts to increase diversity.
