[JayJay]

I just read about a settlement between an oboeist in the Buffalo Philharmonic Symphony who alleged that he had been discriminated against. The principal oboeist allegedly said they didn't need "any more fags." When he reported this to the director, he was soon let go. There was supposed to be a hearing today, but they announced a confidential settlement. I hope that the oboeist received a hefty sum.

I wonder how widespread discrimination is in symphony orchestras? Anybody have any thoughts on this? I assume that a large fraction of the audience for classical music these days is gay and lesbian. It would seem more than usually stupid to discriminate about gay and lesbian musicians, but bigotry leads to stupid decisions.

BTW, the principal oboeist in the Symphony is Pierre Roy; the musical director is a woman who has received human rights awards, but apparently never let that interfere with her desire to keep things from getting "messy," as she allegedly told the person who filed the human rights complaint.
_________________
Jay

[biprof]

I don't believe that discrimination is common in professional symphony orchestras. I have played in professional orchestras all my life, and the most important thing is how well one plays. One also has to be very dependable. Other than that, nothing else much matters. If your second oboe, or any else, is gay, who cares? Of course, as in almost every group, there are stupid homophobes who get the organization in trouble, and that's probably what happened in Buffalo. There is alo, by the way, a great deal of politics and petty jealousies in all orchestras, and it sounds as if the principal oboe may have been threatened by this guy.

My dos centavos.