Wow! Looks like ASO management has no clue what the issues are. I don't think patronizing the schools is a smart idea.

It sounds like ASOPA (the actual playing members of the ASO) are a lot smarter than ASO management. I applaud this move.

The ASO are a class act.

Please don't think they musicians are this nice. This is a PR move for them as they negotiate their new CBA. If the ASO administration had asked the musicians to play three free concerts they would have been laughed out of the room. ASO's administration is not without fault in the current financial turmoil, but don't think for a minute that both sides are not at fault. The musicians have been driving up their salaries, healthcare costs, and travel perks on the ASO for years.

It's honestly nobody's business who the ASO chooses as performers. The ASO needs to make that decision. But with their budget problems, it is a poor choice for the ASO to make a political mess and anger the remaining people who actually buy the tickets. If the ASO wants to make money, they need to make better choices to fill seats. Getting rid of the Atlanta School of Composers idea would be a nice start. Some, but not all, of their music is O.K., but listening to the majority of their material is not worth the price of an ASO ticket. A $5 - $10 ticket is appropriate for Atlanta School of Composers music played by the ASO. Anything else is a ripoff.

I didn't say the musicians were nice. I said they were smart.

Let me get this straight. Not diverse enough = not enough black people. If it were all black would this still be an issue? This is a silly debate. No win for anyone.

I want the administration to do something, not the musicians. Doesn't change our minds at all.

Their offer is generous but kinda lacks an apology from the offending administration. But when you still don't know what went wrong it's kind of hard to form an apology that seems heart felt or sincere. It was their unfortunate choice of words that got them in this mess to begin with. Maybe we are all better off if they don't think out loud anymore.

http://www.atlsymphonymusicians.com/1/post/2012/08/atlanta-symphony-musicians-offer-to-perform-for-free-with-choral-groups.html

Atlanta patrons need to read this article in order to validate that the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony are the ones willing to compensate for the sub-standard performance of management within the Atlanta Symphony. Upper management seems to be unwilling to accept a responsibility for mis-management, be it financial, structural or in the arena of public relations. If it were not for the musicians, the musical and cultural opportunities available for the patrons of Atlanta would not exist. These musicians have consistently demonstrated their personal/professional commitment to culture and the "Fine Arts" as well as their commitment to the city of Atlanta by their training (from early childhood), quality of performance, public relations and continued willingness to compromise. The only professional/personal commitment management has demonstrated is their completion of a degree in business management while demonizing the musicians at the expense of the city of Atlanta, its patrons and the benefactors it has a responsibility to serve.

When minorities are given a fake boost, it does not really help them in the end because, ultimately, a person's occupational value depends on the demand for tbeir work product. When these Walton/Lasiter students are sitting behind a desk interviewing job candidates at some point in the future, I wonder if this lesson in "diversity" will have an effect, consciously or subconsciously, on their decisions. Good job, ASO!