 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: SecondTry
Date: 2025-10-31 19:58
Up front premise: Professional performance positions, particularly in the classical space, must be filled by the best musicians irrespective of their race, gender, sexual preference or identity, or pretty much any other characteristic that could be determined with one's eyes rather than one's ears.
Second up front premise: Not for a second does my prior belief negate, unfair though it may be, the reality that while we may all created equal, that we all don't share equal opportunity. And while I am proud of the advances society has made in seeking to create a more (but by no means completely) level playing surface for those from disadvantaged backgrounds to better partake in things once near exclusive to those with advantage, from tennis to oboe lessons (and the equipment, and the free time to practice), unlike in other professions, in such performance music, where, especially as a woodwind player in a orchestra, you are on your own, where nobody's going to cover for you if you make a mistake at performance time, and only the best players can fill these positions. Still more, there in my opinion is considerable work that stills needs to be done in leveling opportunity in this space.
I am all for putting my time and money into programs that give ever greater opportunity for those from disadvantage backgrounds to be exposed to the finer things in life. And still more, let me say, that players like Anthony McGill, who is a brilliant musician, would deserve his slot if he was a Martian, let alone of African American Extraction. I'm his number one fan and his nothing to do with the color of his skin and everything to do with the beauty of his play.
These beliefs I hold about performance though do NOT translate for me to most other areas of work where a mentorship paradigm can exist that does give advantage to underserved groups to develop, sometimes while working, the skills to then ultimately compete in a pure color blind meritocracy: much that I completely appreciate that in certain areas of life, a person of color twice as competent as their Caucasian counterpart may still face endemic discrimination that doesn't make for such color blind meritocracy.
Anyone who knows me, as I would concur, would find my beliefs ones that feel the need to further right the wrongs of discrimination from the past, and that this may involve at times, sadly, as there are only so many slots in life, taking the equally or less qualified candidate of disadvantaged background over the one without such disadvantages, who did nothing to promote that unfairness.
But I have no tolerance for such an affirmative action stance in performance music because once the initial downbeat falls, there's no opportunity for a mentor to review your efforts before it becomes official work product. If there was, I would feel differently.
What do you think? Show me where I'm wrong. Hardly do I have all the answers.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2025-11-01 01:10
Um, so you are saying, “may the best man win.”
I think
To that we can all agree. The part about privilege vs not, comes down to who HAS the time and energy to devote one’s self to artistic endeavors. It just happens to be those not concerned on a daily basis with where to get food or how to stay warm and dry.
It’s not about fairness. It just is.
………Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jim Han
Date: 2025-11-01 01:29
Some professions do seem to naturally discriminate for/against certain groups. Like pro basketball discriminates against short people(Spud Webb notwithstanding)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SecondTry
Date: 2025-11-01 04:41
Paul Aviles wrote:
> Um, so you are saying, “may the best man win.”
>
>
>
>
>
> ………Paul Aviles
>
..or woman, or trans or non-gendered person, or any other class with which people define themselves that I've missed but respect, but otherwise, yes.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
