Tuesday, April 5, 2022

South Bend Tribune: Editorial: Bravo to South Bend Symphony for focus on and commitment to diversity

William Levi Dawson
(Provided by South Bend Symphony)


April 4, 2022

Saturday's South Bend Symphony Orchestra concert, which grew out of a diversity initiative, acknowledged the historic neglect of Black composers and performers.

As significant as the event was, what's even more encouraging is the commitment that goes beyond a single concert.

As reported in a Tribune story by Andrew S. Hughes, the concert is the first in SBSO's 89-year history with a program composed entirely of works by Black composers: Quinn Mason’s “A Joyous Trilogy”; Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, with Black pianist Michelle Cann as the guest soloist; and William Levi Dawson’s “Negro Folk Symphony.”

The concert is the result of the SBSO’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiative, which launched in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. 

SBSO Music Director Alastair Willis noted that American orchestras are "stepping up and looking at their past of building their orchestras on white, dead European composers.”

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