We stand with josh
SENT VIA EMAIL ON APRIL 7, 2023
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.
Given your orchestra’s relationship with the Sphinx Organization we believe you should give serious consideration to their NAAS Recommended Audition and Tenure Guidelines. They were created in collaboration with orchestral leaders from across the country, including members of your own orchestra. They identify several critical features of an equitable tenure process that we believe were absent in the Kansas City Symphony’s process:
Create a process of shared feedback throughout the tenure review which is transparent to the musician candidate, the Music Director and relevant musician committee and section members. Constructive and direct feedback should be shared at a minimum of every 6 months for a two-year tenure process and every 2-3 months for a one year process.
At the start of the tenure process, a meeting should be scheduled with the tenure candidate, musician committee representatives, and a representative from management, to clearly explain the tenure process and the rights of the candidate.
In the interest of assisting in a positive outcome, the musician committee in consultation with the candidate, should identify a musician Advocate or Ombudsman, who can guide the candidate through the tenure process and assist in communication with other musicians and management.
The relationship of the candidate, musician committee and orchestra should be collegial and respectful. Candidates should be encouraged to share their own feedback.
In Josh’s case, it does not appear that he was provided with a musician Advocate or Ombudsman; it does not appear Kansas City Symphony had a process for maintaining a good relationship, shared feedback, two-way feedback and transparency between Josh and the committee.
On June 3, 2020, the following statement was made by the Kansas City Symphony: “Racism has no place in our lives, in our organization, or in our community. The Kansas City Symphony is committed: to standing united for equality and justice; to standing against hatred, racism and division; to learning; to growing and being better. We stand together with our Black community. We mourn the lives lost and the pain that is so deeply felt. We are listening.” We would like to believe this statement is sincere and that the Kansas City Symphony will take this opportunity to listen, learn, grow, be better, and stand with the Black community.
The Black Orchestral Network was formed to help remove barriers, support classical music institutions, and see equitable and inclusive tenure and audition guidelines adopted. We are devoted to changing the pernicious and anti-Black mindset that has been perpetuated in classical music spaces. American orchestras have reached a critical juncture where they need to do differently to be different. Hiring Black orchestral musicians is an opportunity worth fighting for.
The Kansas City Symphony is a leader among American Orchestras. The Kansas City Symphony has the opportunity to break the cycle of uneven, unfair, and biased tenure practices, including by tenuring Josh and by instituting the recommendations in the NAAS guidelines. If the Kansas City Symphony would like to discuss how to elegantly navigate the reversal of this decision, we would welcome the opportunity to participate in that effort.
Sincerely,
The Black Orchestral Network
