Thursday, August 16, 2012

I Bless the Rain Down in Africa -- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra declares Cobb County High Schools "Too White" to Play with Them

Stephen Wilson, the lone Black member of the ASO in "The Black Mecca"
Wanting to write about this hilarious found at WSBTV (sent in by a loyal reader: trust me, it's totally worth watching) that show Black parents in Atlanta complaining of their children being forced to walk one mile to school -- through bad neighborhoods that are but a physical manifestation of the type of community Black people are capable of producing on their own -- when my eye caught a much different story.

It seems the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra - though boasting virtually an all-white lineup of musicians - is made about the racial makeup of high school chorus groups that perform with them. 11 Alive, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta, reports (Atlanta Symphony thinks two Cobb high school choruses 'not diverse enough', 11 Alive NBC - Atlanta, August 16, 2012):
COBB COUNTY, Ga. -- After a four-year partnership, two suburban Cobb County high school choruses will not be performing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra this coming fall.

That's because they've been told they are not racially diverse enough.

The Walton High School Chorus has received many honors and performed all over the world.

So, too, has the Lassiter High School Chorus.

But they won't be back with the ASO for a joint holiday concert this coming December.

11Alive was first alerted to the change by e-mails from some angry parents, none of whom would go on camera.

But a spokesperson for the Cobb County School District confirmed the breakup.

In a response to an 11Alive e-mail, school system communications director Jay Dillon wrote that "the schools were informed by Symphony officials that their choruses are not diverse enough, and that the Symphony would be inviting a third, more diverse chorus."

Dillon said Walton and Lassiter were still welcome to participate but, "because of limited space, only a portion of the Lassiter and Walton choruses would therefore be able to attend."

He added that the schools chose not to leave any chorus members behind and "would not be able to perform with the Symphony."

Dillon also wrote, "Cobb County School District choral programs are open to all students, and participation is determined on the basis of merit alone."

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra sent us a written reply from marketing VP Charlie Wade.

"We've been thrilled with the quality and performance of Lassiter and Walton choruses for four straight years; they are terrific," Wade wrote. "But we felt it was simply time to let another set of kids participate."

He said Atlanta's Grady High School chorus had been added.

Meanwhile, we also asked about the racial diversity of the ASO itself.

A 2008 study by the League of American Orchestras found that 87% of musicians in U.S. symphonies are white.

But Melissa A.E. Sanders, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's senior director of communications, wrote, "It is against our policy to share the race and/or ethnicity of our musicians, so I am unable to share that information."
Those hideously white schools in Cobb County, Walton and Lassister, aren't exactly hives of homogeneity: out of 2500 students, Walton is 75 percent white and 5 percent Black; out of just under 2000 students, Lassiter is 80 percent white and 10 percent Black.

Grady High School, which has replaced these horrifyingly white schools from Cobb County, is thankfully 67 percent Black and 27 percent white. Whereas 50 percent of the students at Grady are eligible for free or reduced lunches, less than 10 percent are eligible at both Lassiter and Walton.

Perhaps there's a correlation to hunger and vocal ability?

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) has always been on the lookout for the great Black hope, with Robert Shaw- the music director of the ASO from 1967- 1988 - being radically devoted to enriching the all-white ASO with much needed diversity:
When he arrived in Atlanta in August 1967, he found the ASO already in the midst of an effort to upgrade itself. Atlanta’s cultural leaders had long been working toward raising the Orchestra’s budget, extending the length of its season and building a permanent hall for its performances. They turned to Shaw because he was both a musician of international stature in both orchestral and choral realms and a rising conductor who could bring the ASO to prominence as his own reputation grew. 
He came in like a whirlwind, presenting ambitious concerts of difficult music, speaking about Atlanta’s need for a conservatory of music, looking for black musicians to play in the all-white orchestra, successfully lobbying to have black members added to the ASO’s Board, and introducing the city to more contemporary music than it had ever heard before. Hard though he may have driven his players and singers, he pushed himself harder. His attention to detail and his capacity for endless hours of score study and preparation were phenomenal. Unlike most high-profile conductors, he had no other orchestra half a globe away, and he accepted few dates to conduct elsewhere. Shaw had come to Atlanta to be Music Director, and he considered it a full-time commitment. 
Throughout his career, Shaw was known for his commitment to racial equality and to broadening opportunities for minority musicians in the classical field. Under his leadership, the ASO actively sought black and other minority instrumentalists for vacancies in the Orchestra. During the 1980s the Atlanta Symphony participated in the Music Assistance Fund’s “Orchestra Fellows Program,” designed to help rising black string players gain the experience for successful symphonic careers. At the front of the stage, many black soloists, both instrumental and vocal, performed with the ASO. His commitment was further reflected in his full staging in 1972 of the world premiere of Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha, in his frequent work with glee clubs from Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, in his leading the ASO at the inaugural ceremony for Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first black mayor, and in his commissioning of new music by composers such as Frederick Tillis, Billy Taylor, John Lewis, T.J. Anderson and Alvin Singleton. Anderson and Singleton were also chosen by Shaw to be Composers in Residence with the ASO.
So, how'd all that diversity and inclusion work out for Mr. Shaw in trying to "Blacken" up the ASO? Lonely Stephen Wilson, who plays in the brass section of the ASO, is the lone Black member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2012. In the city that we know and love called "The Black Mecca," the fine Black citizens of the metro Atlanta area can only muster one lone musician worthy of inclusion in the ASO.

White people, no matter how much talent, are to be replaced in Black-Run America (BRA) with a continued energetic - and rapacious - drive for 'diversity'.

Some one cue up the Toto and hit replay on "Africa"...

67 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fuck the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. I'm sure they don't dare complain that their paying audience is virtually ALL WHITE. I wish that the patrons of the ASO would immediately stop supporting this haughty bunch of DWLs. The ASO has obviously forgotten who feeds the bulldog. Hint: it isn't the spearchuckers.

MuayTyson said...

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/08/16/officers-sue-claim-politics-got-them-cut-from-mayors-security-detail/


We have to sue and sue and sue until courts are clogged win or lose. We (White Europeans) absolutely with out a doubt need advocacy groups. We need a Reverend or Community Organizer to stand up and say,"NO More!"

Unlike the black this person will need to be beyond reproach with ZERO skeletons in their closet. It may need to be a Mormon or someone religious because they will examine their background with a microscope.

rjp said...

He added that the schools chose not to leave any chorus members behind and "would not be able to perform with the Symphony."

The only acceptable response. Good for Jay Dillon.

But Melissa A.E. Sanders, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's senior director of communications, wrote, "It is against our policy to share the race and/or ethnicity of our musicians, so I am unable to share that information."

Melissa A.E. Sanders can do that because she is a bitch. From her Twitter: tweeting mostly about melodically musical manifestations. What's the word that is probably more representative of what she really is?

This guy, Robert Shaw- the music director of the ASO from 1967- 1988, is a real treat. Almost makes you wonder if his true desires might have run a bit deeper than cultivating black musicians, and run more towards "making or being made" by black musicians.

As for the angry parents of Walton High School Chorus and Lassiter High School Chorus, if any of them still have orchestra subscriptions, then they are part of the problem too.

Anonymous said...

Funny, I e-mailed SBPDL about the upcoming diversity campaign for president of Georgia Tech, and got no response.

But this: this is blog-worthy?

I question the motives of this place sometimes.

Willfred Tiberius Fergeson said...

How about queuing up 2live crew's 'do-wah-ditty'?

That's what a diverse enough ASO really would sound like!

Ahhh, the classics.

SomeGuy said...

This is pathetic. But you must know it is mostly DWL's that attend and support symphonies. There is a reason NPR is the station most associated with classical music. Who knows why they listen to it, me thinks for moral superiority.

They are literally killing art. Western art.

So they add Grady High School eh? If that school has anything like the reputation Grady Memorial Hospital has the chorus will most likely be garbage. I can see it now, they'll probably have to add some African sounding bullshit so they can hang with the ASO.

Californian said...

I thought "race was just a construct" and that we were supposed to judge musicians by the content of their playing and not the color of their skin.

Seriously, you have to wonder about the long term effects on civilization of this sort of thing. We can see how education and public services are degraded as testing is thrown out to admit unqualified minority applicants. And how entire neighborhoods can be laid waste in the interests of Title 8 housing. And, apparently, the armed forces are dropping standards in the pursuit of the chimera of "diversity."

Now it's the turn for classical music.

You wonder how future generations will look back at this era and wonder why the arts went into precipitous decline. Much as we today look at the decline of Roman civilization in the 4th and 5th centuries AD and speculate about the content of lead in the wine cups.

Anonymous said...

So if a tone deaf vibrant diversity who can't play the first note applies for let's say cello just for example does he/she get hired on the basis of skin or vibrant diversity status?

Anonymous said...

For all my friends who live here in Atlanta...maybe it is time for a 'campaign for justice' against the ASO's DISCRIMINATION against white students. Just call the office of the ASO first chance you get and say "Let me just make a simple analogy : "The ASO feels that ___ school is too Black and since we object to that for____reasons, we are going to find a school that has a bigger percentage of White students"

This is outrageous. If you don't stand up against this then you are part of the problem. I for one am calling first thing in the morning and demanding to speak to some one in charge.

Don't let up folks...this is war.

Willfred Tiberius Fergeson said...

Forgot to mention this: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLjAjAvxDkfk%26feature%3Dshare&feature=share&v=LjAjAvxDkfk&gl=US

Jeff Rense posred a news clip about the gub'ment lifeline free "sailfones" for the hoodrats. As usual, all about tha gibsmedat off of whitey's expense. Only 4police minutes of your valuable time.

josh said...

GRADY High? Was it named after the character on 'Sanford & Son'??

rjp said...

SomeGuy said...

I can see it now, they'll probably have to add some African sounding bullshit so they can hang with the ASO.

These are holiday concerts ... you know, the things that used to be called Christmas (somethings).

So, you and I both know damn well it will be a "I can hit da high note jus like Mariah Carey" fest filled with extended eeks and ooks. And a bunch of people that have never been in The Woodruff Arts Center treating the building like it has never been treated before.

rjp said...

Califonian said...

Much as we today look at the decline of Roman civilization in the 4th and 5th centuries AD and speculate about the content of lead in the wine cups.

We have seen lead crystal outlawed in this country. Home much lead does the gov think leeches out of glass into a drink or 200? Poor people didn't use lead crystal, rich people wouldn't have used it once it's look deteriorated or it lost the "ting". The gov is crazy.

Anonymous said...

It seems like everyday it's something new with this stuff. And it's hard to wakeup the ones with white guilt. I try history, I try facts, but it's just tough.

The scariest part of all is that the orchestra could have just said "We want to give another school a chance." But nope, they were so brazen that they flat out said "not diverse enough..." They just said they're too white! When they didn't even have to! The bastard DWL's just wanted to rub it in their faces.

Maybe this is the type of thing that can wake alot of people up, at least locally. How pissed are the kids in these choirs? And their parents? Plus the rest of the students and teachers will know what happened. When the kids say, "Not fair!", what could you say back? "Yeah you're right; welcome to BRA."

Robert in Arabia said...

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/330421
New Dawn walks the talk.

Zenster said...

Not just patron or subscribers but all season ticket holders and other local classical musicians should all declare a unanimous boycott of the ASO.

He [Jay Dillon] added that the schools chose not to leave any chorus members behind and "would not be able to perform with the Symphony."

No child left behind? Brilliant! Dillon takes a Liberal talking point and turns it into a suppository for these smarmy Leftist bastards.

White Atlantans had better be up in arms over this or they can kiss their fine arts goodbye.

Anonymous said...

What do readers outside of the USA think about this sort of thing? How does it make America look?

Especially anyone in South Africa...care to make any comparisons?

Kylie said...

Just in case anyone doesn't understand the full import of what the ASO's decision means, here are two groups of high school students performing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah:


Majority white choirs sing the Hallelujah Chorus

Blacks desecrate work of art created by a white man

Anonymous said...

Don't get your nose out of shape because SBPDL didn't flow up on your tip. Start your own blog and I'll add it to my reads if it's with it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Fuck the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. I'm sure they don't dare complain that their paying audience is virtually ALL WHITE. I wish that the patrons of the ASO would immediately stop supporting this haughty bunch of DWLs. The ASO has obviously forgotten who feeds the bulldog. Hint: it isn't the spearchucker

Indeed, liberals will bite the hand that pays them

rex freeway said...

Ive watched people who call me a racist bigot for the last 10 years shake their heads in disbelief when all ive preached about has come true. But they still line up at the slaughter house refusing to change their ways. Fu#%ing idiots.

Anonymous said...

This angers and saddens me ... and I don't even LIKE classical music!

When does this end? White people have a seemingly bottomless tolerance for abuse. Hopefully it'll make us stronger or soething in the long run ....

Anonymous said...

The symphony must learn Toto-Africa in its entirety and get some African drums in their repertoire in the interest of vibrant diversity if not some poor downtrodden nagras will storm the symphony and burn it down!

Discard said...

For the kids and their families,this is what you call a "teachable moment". Pay attention, class: As far as this regime is concerned, you are shit because you are White. Never forget or forgive that.

bubo said...

I wonder if some behind the scenes arm twisting from the HNIC types caused this change? Anyway this type of stuff is good. White kids need to understand where they stand in the new order of things. They need to get a bellyfull of double standards and outright hatred for being white. They need to understand that diversity and all that other bullshit really means go and die you white motherfuckers, this our world now.

Anonymous said...

"The ASO feels that ___ school is too Black and since we object to that for____reasons, we are going to find a school that has a bigger percentage of White students"

I believe this is a very important distinction that needs to be repeated often and loudly to show the absurdity of the ASO's statement. As the anonymous poster suggested please call the ASO and let them know how ridiculous they are for their decision. Also, when they actually choose all black schools be sure to call and ask them why they are applying a double standard.

Also, post/comment on as many news websites as possible so that all can see the double standard.

Anonymous said...

I enrolled my children in our local Metropolitan Youth Orchestra for music instruction as part of their home school curriculum. The leader was an older black woman who was determined to sell the group as a "minority, inner-city, underserved, underrepresented" youth orchestra, which was run under the umbrella of our local philharmonic orchestra (all white and Asian). They received government grant money for their "outreach" programs.

This woman was collecting huge donations from unsuspecting people by lying about the racial makeup of the group. The youth orchestra was mostly home-schooled or privately-schooled whites and Asians and a few mixed kids all of middle to upper income. I pulled them out because of the lies they were telling to donors. It is a sham, and only appeals to DWLs who want to help the little inner-city black children.

Anonymous said...

Contact Us

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Hall
1280 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309-3552
(404) 733-4900

General email: aso-info@woodruffcenter.org
Press email: asopr@woodruffcenter.org


Administrative Offices
Suite 4074 (404) 733-4900 9:00am - 5:00pm, Monday-Friday

Public Relations/Press Information (404) 733-4846
(404) 733-4105 9:00am - 5:00pm, Monday-Friday

i'm all white! how about you? said...

has anyone ever got a job from a poor ngr from the ghetto? has anyone ever seen a ngr at the symphony? has any DWL ever told the fucking truth? or how about this ngr on msnbc has a job title called race watcher and this spook gets a pay check from those pig liberals. funny they never asked me to apply for that position. knowing these liberal pigs like i do, there would be no way a white man would be able to fill that position. i think his name is tyree he is on at 5:00p.m. it's a knock off of the 5 on fox. i guess this bozo took african studies in college so this man knows us whites and how we think. yea right. these libbs at atlanta and everywhere else in this country really should just drop dead. who in their right mind goes to places and wonders why there aren't enough blacks in the symphony, jobsite, and anywhere else for that matter. these are the types of pig liberals that would give the job to the ngr and not even hire their own offspring first. unless it comes to the liberal's neighbors though. but remember you have to rent to blacks but they don't. in reality i can't decide who i can't stand more a ngr or a white liberal! can anyone reading this help me out with this. maybe like a pro-cons kind of list. but i do know it's friday and have a good weekend and godspeed to all my fellow whites except those liberal pig whites.

Vic Veritas said...

Great idea; good for you, Friend. I already emailed the ASO my none-too-subtle thoughts on the matter.
This goes beyond just "nuts;" this is Joe (What, me worry?)Biden territory.

Anonymous said...

Let's see, young impressionable students of the same breed of human which has created the overwhelming majority of the most precise and complex form of music will be denied a significant opportunity in order for the DWL's to assuage the hypersensitive ego's of their most important political mob.
This is another one of the endless examples of the fact that just as blacks are largely economic parasites on White America, DWL's are political parasites of the black vote.

The DWL's and blacks. The ends of a giant political lever Leeching White America, not only economically, but culturally as well.

Vic Veritas said...

This goes beyond being merely nuts; this is Biden (What, me worry?) territory.
I've emailed the ASO my none-too-subtle comments.

Anonymous said...

"Diversity" simply means anti-White.

The "Diversity" pushers are simply racist (anti-White).

Will we ever learn???

Anonymous said...

All those beautiful White people singing, "Africa". It made my heart sing. What a grand wonderful race of people.

Mr. Rational said...

AnonymousIt is a sham, and only appeals to DWLs who want to help the little inner-city black children.

Why do you care?  If the DWLs are inadvertently funding the preservation of White culture, shouldn't you let them?  Given the massive funding for BRA, getting a little of your own back is the least you deserve.  Having a Black woman doing the dirty work to spread White culture to White children is the icing on the cake.

ANonnieMouse said...

Glad to see so many kindred spirits here. The ASO has stepped in it big time and this is a huge opportunity for white people to stand firm and speak out. Let's hope they don't waste it. I'm trying to do my part and glad to see that others are, too.

The ASO's in huge debt but this move sure isn't going to help solve that problem. Blacks will NOT buy tickets, dress up and attend classical concerts. I've seen it first-hand and it's a FACT. Inviting a black chorus to an event is not going to increase ticket sales, and to make matters worse, they expect everything from the host organization to be free.

There are exceptions, of course, but the unless it's rap or some other disgusting form of mindlessly repetitive noise, the majority of black people are completely uninterested in anything that smacks of Western culture.

Grant money is most definitely at stake. Grant applications frequently, if not almost always, require a statement of racial diversity from the applicant, along with a numerical breakdown of the organization's racial composition. The politically-correct language in these applications is enough to make one violently ill. The amount of BS in these papers is sickening.

Interesting that the media has ignored the racial makeup of Grady (well, maybe not so interesting, considering who owns the media.) It's always been a predominately-black school. Now, with so many stupid white people moving downtown and into what have been majority-black areas for many years, the school's mixture has changed somewhat. It's beyond comprehension that white people think that associating with these blacks is good for their family. Seems that the leadoff story on the news every day is about someone getting shot in these neighborhoods. Who's next?

Ileyne said...

San Francisco Symphony has many Asians, both Chinese and Japanese, one black horn player [who seems like a bit of a twit]. Mostly whites, several from Europe.
I think there used to be a black second violinist, but I don't see him anymore.
The auditions are allegedly "blind," so no chance of favoritism.
I haven't heard any rumors of "racial imbalance" in the chorus or orchestra, despite the almost complete absence of negroes.
One never sees blacks at the S.F. symphony, ballet, a play, or the opera. Those are some of the most "white" things one can do for entertainment.
The only downside is the one block walk from BART station to Davies or Opera House; over time, it's become a dodgy neighborhood. One must walk through a miasma of sour urine emanating from doorways and sidewalks, step over homeless men curled up in filthy sleeping bags all around.
Once beautiful S.F. is a "sanctuary" city, defies immigration laws, pays general assistance benefits to all comers, welcomes the homeless, allows dopers to tie off, and shoot up in a public park.
What do we expect?
The Symphony is great though.

Italian guy said...

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/crackdown-is-likely-reason-for-plummeting-scores-at-city-school/article_8d9cfc93-1bfb-5811-b4a1-1fd790b8c0b3.html

Hilarious, negroes got busted cheating on exams in St. Louis and now the pass rate fell down from 47% to 10% in communications arts, in math dropped from 43% in 2011 to about 8% etc. lololol

Melanie said...

Thanks for the contact info, I emailed them just so they know people are aware of their hypocrisy. They get away with this crud because they think no one sees or cares what they're doing.

Zenster said...

Mr. Rational: Having a Black woman doing the dirty work to spread White culture to White children is the icing on the cake.

Ummmm … no. As other astute participants here have noted, classical music was created by Whites for Whites. That combination of aural acuity and cognitive perception needed to appreciate the nuanced expressions and embellishments of classical music will more likely escape someone of lesser IQ and this includes their ability to teach such traits.

There is even emerging evidence that absolute pitch (perfect pitch) may be related to "tonal fluency". It manifests in how East Asian children demonstrate absolute pitch at greater rates than those whose languages are not as tone driven. The complex inflections of Chinese make those who learn it much more sensitive to tone.

While I question the primacy of linguistic tonal fluency, a combination of IQ and that tonal sensitivity certainly could explain a lot. The reason for this being that many sub-Saharan languages display tonal complexity but are notorious for their limited vocabulary.

No matter how tonally dependent a language might be, if its intrinsic scope is limited by low word count, it seems unlikely that it will confer the development of an ear highly trained for nuanced expression.

Consequently, someone with a potentially reduced IQ, coming from a lineage of speakers possessing a restricted vocabulary whose overall achievements in musical technology and orchestration are marginal just doesn't strike me as an ideal candidate for teaching my children about classical music.

Anonymous said...

"Racist" is code for anti-White.

"Diversity" is code for death to Whites.

Have you ever heard the diversity crowd complain that Detroit is too black or Flint Michigan is too black or Deerborn, MI is too Muslim or Southern California is too Mexican or Texas is too Mexican or Miami and South Florida are too Cuban or Atlanta,Ga is too black or there are too many illegals in this country? Have you ever heard the diversity crowd complain that the Obongo administration is too racist and too black?
The multicult crowd only bleats that there are just too many Whites.
Diversity is code for, "Death to Whites."

Playing Roots Backwards said...

Dem skools bes get them some negros if dey know whats good fo them.

Jay in DC said...

And, in other unsurprising news...

International Chimpouts! And reported on CNN no less! Notice how 100 "youths" were involved in "urban areas". LOL.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/14/world/europe/france-riots/index.html?iref=obinsite

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/world/africa/south-africa-mine-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Thankfully, the officers that unleashed a full auto barrage into the crowd were all black, but their CO was White, so of course, dis be rayciss too!

Anonymous said...

This is not surprising to me at all...Woodruff Arts Center has an annual open house where they invite people to tour the High Museum, Symphony Hall and have a bunch of family-friendly events. I have taken my family for the past couple of years. The first year was great and we had a blast, but this past Spring, the 'diversity push' went out and it looked like they invited every Boys and Girls clubs, youth organizations, etc...from the black parts of Atlanta. We were treated to loud rap music blaring from huge speakers upon arriving, and inside Woodruff Arts Center was a large number of hoopties engaging in TNB...fun, fun, fun! I'm sure the event will crash and burn in another couple of years. The site of clueless blacks wandering around the High Museum staring slack-jawed at European art treasures was almost comical, if it were not so pathetic.

If you don't live here in Atlanta, this is what is in store for you within the next 20 years...

Kylie said...

Mr. Rational said...
"'Anonymous: It is a sham, and only appeals to DWLs who want to help the little inner-city black children.'

Why do you care? If the DWLs are inadvertently funding the preservation of White culture, shouldn't you let them? Given the massive funding for BRA, getting a little of your own back is the least you deserve. Having a Black woman doing the dirty work to spread White culture to White children is the icing on the cake."


Mr. Rational, I have always enjoyed your comments and think your username is very apt.

But in this case, I think you simply don't realize what we are up again.

The DWL's are not inadvertently funding the preservation of white culture. They are perverting and degrading white culture deliberately and systematically. Yes, our taxes fund BRA but when we get our own back, it's in a form that's almost beyond recognition.

Believe me, that black woman doing the dirty work of perverting white culture is doing so with glee.

There are few if any groups of black singers who are willing to sing a classical piece created by a white composer without putting their own horrid black spin on it. Think of how black celebrities routinely ruin "The Star-Spangled Banner" whenever they sing it at public events. Or think of the song, "I Will Always Love You" composed and sung so beautifully by Dolly Parton. Then think of how Whitney Houston whooped and wailed away at it, ruining its delicacy and meaning. Do you really think whites' classical music would be exempt from the same type of debased interpretation when sung by blacks?

Please look up my previous comment here posted at August 16, 2012, 9:11 p.m. and click on the links. Then force yourself to listen to both clips and you will understand what I mean.

Willfred Tiberius Fergeson said...

I forgot about perfect pitch Zenster.

Our "friends" who brought phō to our shores also have a prevalence of that too. A little warm out, so I won't be going to Phō King today, although it is a decent & reasonably priced eatery.

Anonymous said...

I sent ASO an email saying I've supported them for years but now I'm stopping because of this decision even though I've never been to Atlanta. Everyone on this blog should do the same and get like minded friends to join in as well. Don't curse or use insulting language but make it clear they should be embarrassed by their decision.

Mr. Rational said...

ZensterThe reason for this being that many sub-Saharan languages display tonal complexity but are notorious for their limited vocabulary.

Speaking of that, I have searched for information on the number of words in African languages including Swahili and Kikuyu.  I have not been able to find any quantitative information.  Do you have any good sources?

someone with a potentially reduced IQ, coming from a lineage of speakers possessing a restricted vocabulary whose overall achievements in musical technology and orchestration are marginal just doesn't strike me as an ideal candidate for teaching my children about classical music.

Would you rather have it done by such a person and financed by DWL contributions re-directed away from truly destructive purposes in ghettos, or not done at all?

KylieThe DWL's are not inadvertently funding the preservation of white culture. They are perverting and degrading white culture deliberately and systematically.

Kylie, Anonymous above did not make any such claim; his/her objection was to the deceitful financing, not the quality of the instruction.  I'd say that if you can find ready-made lemonade made from our lemons, it's one of the rare and precious opportunities to twist the beast.  Your examples, while instructive, do not apply.

Of course, if you could expand the program you could get White instructors and let the Black woman specialize in fundraising in the traditional false-front "minority-owned" enterprise model.  Think subversion!

Zenster said...

Mr. Rational: Speaking of that, I have searched for information on the number of words in African languages including Swahili and Kikuyu. I have not been able to find any quantitative information. Do you have any good sources?

Prior to commenting above, I did a lengthy search on "average adult vocabulary by nation" and "average adult vocabulary by language" without any useful results. Even adding the key word "list" did not bring forth and hard data.

My perceptions are based upon the article by Gedaliah Braun, Morality and Abstract Thinking – How Africans may differ from Westerners (linked here by a SBPDL participant and originally posted at Amren)

An excerpt: They were puzzled that I needed a dictionary, and I was puzzled by their puzzlement. I explained that there are times when you hear a word you’re not sure about and so you look it up. “But if English is your language,” they asked, “how can there be words you don’t know?” “What?” I said. “No one knows all the words of his language.”

“But we know all the words of Kikuyu; every Kikuyu does,” they replied. I was even more surprised, but gradually it dawned on me that since their language is entirely oral, it exists only in the minds of Kikuyu speakers. Since there is a limit to what the human brain can retain, the overall size of the language remains more or less constant. A written language, on the other hand, existing as it does partly in the millions of pages of the written word, grows far beyond the capacity of anyone to know it in its entirety. But if the size of a language is limited, it follows that the number of concepts it contains will also be limited and hence that both language and thinking will be impoverished.

African languages were, of necessity, sufficient in their pre-colonial context. They are impoverished only by contrast to Western languages and in an Africa trying to emulate the West. While numerous dictionaries have been compiled between Euro­pean and African languages, there are few dictionaries within a single African language, precisely because native speakers have no need for them. I did find a Zulu-Zulu dictionary, but it was a small-format paperback of 252 pages.

My queries into Zulu began when I rang the African Language Department at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and spoke to a white guy. Did “precision” exist in the Zulu language prior to European contact? “Oh,” he said, “that’s a very Eurocentric question!” and simply wouldn’t answer. I rang again, spoke to another white guy, and got a virtually identical response.

So I called the University of South Africa, a large correspondence university in Pretoria, and spoke to a young black guy. As has so often been my experience in Africa, we hit it off from the start. He understood my interest in Zulu and found my questions of great interest. He explained that the Zulu word for “precision” means “to make like a straight line.” Was this part of indigenous Zulu? No; this was added by the compilers of the dictionary.

But, he assured me, it was otherwise for “promise.” I was skeptical. How about “obligation?” We both had the same dictionary (English-Zulu, Zulu-English Dictionary, published by Witwatersrand University Press in 1958), and looked it up. The Zulu entry means “as if to bind one’s feet.” He said that was not indigenous but was added by the compilers. But if Zulu didn’t have the concept of obligation, how could it have the concept of a promise, since a promise is simply the oral undertaking of an obligation? I was interested in this, I said, because Africans often failed to keep promises and never apologized—as if this didn’t warrant an apology.


[to be continued]

Zenster said...

A light bulb seemed to go on in his mind. Yes, he said; in fact, the Zulu word for promise—isithembiso—is not the correct word. When a black person “promises” he means “maybe I will and maybe I won’t.” But, I said, this makes nonsense of promising, the very purpose of which is to bind one to a course of action. When one is not sure he can do something he may say, “I will try but I can’t promise.” He said he’d heard whites say that and had never understood it till now. As a young Romanian friend so aptly summed it up, when a black person “promises” he means “I’ll try.”

Got that? "But if the size of a language is limited, it follows that the number of concepts it contains will also be limited and hence that both language and thinking will be impoverished."

Now, cut your own IQ by between 25% and 50% to match average sub-Saharan intelligence levels and just how much of your "thinking will be impoverished"? Take the average White adult vocabulary of 50,000 words and cut that in half, or more. What sort of thinking will you be doing now?

This should provide pretty strong circumstantial proof that sub-Saharan African languages, despite their tonal complexity, are incapable of articulating much beyond the most basic concepts.

Would you rather have it done by such a person and financed by DWL contributions re-directed away from truly destructive purposes in ghettos, or not done at all?

My eyes are sufficiently open now to where I know that teachers are role models for children, just as I am equally sure that any of my children will be denied an opportunity to look up to Blacks as role models. In later years, this may well save their very lives. For the nonce, I simply refuse to trust Blacks with accurately transmitting to children something so precious as an appreciation of classical music. Music, like a love of reading, is one of the most priceless gifts that a parent can bestow upon a child. Hoping that some pavement ape will do a good job of either task is moronic, at best.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Rational said: Why do you care?

The children must play black and jazz music, not "white music" as you state. The entire organization is based on a lie. Mr. Rational, some of us have standards. That is required in a civilized society. I am a Christian and teach my children to be honest. I will not use the youth orchestra, and pay the subsidized discounted fee ($90 for a year, wow!!) in order to perpetuate a lie. I will not benefit from donations which are collected from white people and based on a LIE. I will pay for private tutoring instead.

Anonymous said...

Kylie said: Believe me, that black woman doing the dirty work of perverting white culture is doing so with glee.

Thank you Kylie. You are correct. Glee is an accurate description. She hates white people, especially home schooled "privileged" white children, as she stated to me. She panders to the inner-city blacks and the public schools, but profits and received a salary from whites. She is the token Negro for the Philharmonic. She is vile and a liar.

Anonymous said...

Metropolitan Youth Orchestra: "Outreach to disadvantaged minority and inner-city children, providing musical instruction to help build self-esteem and help keep kids in school."

Mr. Rational, I bet you would not donate to such an organization with such a mission statement. The concerts are at the Madame C. Walker theater in the inner-city. Locals black get free tickets to the concerts. They have an MLK concert for Black History Month.

Anonymous said...

Saint Louis here. We go to the symphony at Powell Hall on Grand Ave. it's in da hood. During performances we are always distracted by popo and bambalance sirens going by to deal with TNB. There is one lone violin player who is AA. She's always seated in front do the audience can see her. She looks like she's having a good time. I suspect they took the strings out of her instrument. She's just for decoration

Anonymous said...

"GRADY High? Was it named after the character on 'Sanford & Son'??"

No, but they're all BIG DUMMIES!

Mr. Rational said...

ZensterMy perceptions are based upon the article by Gedaliah Braun

I have also read that article, and another that made similar claims, but without hard info to back it up it's useless to try to beat off the apologists for Black dysfunction (AFBD? I need to come up with something with a catchier acronym) and convince bystanders.

I really want incontrovertible evidence to back the hypothesis that Ebonics is so impovershed because average Black language capacity is itself limited as proven by their languages.  As an unsupported assertion (the writings of a traveler or two can be dismissed as the products of prejudice), it's useless.

If I find anything, I'll post it here.  I'm sure you'll do the same.

Anonymous:  Thank you for returning to expand on your original post.  You have given facts not previously in evidence, settling a question which was previously disputable.

Mr. Rational, I bet you would not donate to such an organization with such a mission statement.

You are correct, I would not.  On the other hand, taking the money from people who would and using it for something worthwhile is still on my list of acceptable actions.  When the entire Gramscian/Alinksky toolbox is being used against us, it's a matter of survival to do something back.

Anonymous said...

If you watch PBS, you would get the impression that 50% of the money donated to PBS comes from cultured black folks.

The racial diversification of the major symphonies in the USA may end up stepping on a lot of white toes. Blacks don't donate, and they don't buy tickets.

nikcrit said...

"I really want incontrovertible evidence to back the hypothesis that Ebonics is so impovershed because average Black language capacity is itself limited as proven by their languages. As an unsupported assertion (the writings of a traveler or two can be dismissed as the products of prejudice), it's useless."

There's solid academic consensus among linguists that written-vs.-oral languages are vastly more elaborate and accomplished a mode of communication, let alone historical record.
No one really disuptes that, regardless of political bent (or no one of at least somewhat sound scruples). you might see some avoidance and dancing around the point by sillier libs or farther out there afro-eccentric scholar stuff (e.g., Leonard Jeffries), but few other places.
Oral sub-saharan languages are more expressive; and do include language that goes beyond its mere counted vocabulary by having different meanings for different inflections of the same word or 'stringum' (word combination), but doesn't approach the compositional levels and precision of the normative languages.
But the expressiveness and emphasias on inflection of oral languages is said to possibly account for black accomplishment at improvisational music performance, e.g. jazz and certain African pop styles.

Melanie said...

@Kylie


They (negros) do the same thing to ballet (thank God, so far the numbers are negigible, I hope and pray that their lack of interest,aptitude, and suitablity of body type will make it remain so). Can you imagine the sacrilege of a blackskinned "Giselle"? Not to mention the complete lack of delicacy of such a portrayal?

Anonymous said...

I don't know why they just don't put about 50 black people in tuxedos up there with fake instruments, and have the real orchestra playing behind a curtain.

Anonymous said...

White people are their own worst enemy, and this proves it. Instead of championing their own European culture, they choose to waste their energy trying t buttress and prop up black Third World culture.

Zenster said...

Melanie: They (negros) do the same thing to ballet (thank God, so far the numbers are negigible, I hope and pray that their lack of interest,aptitude, and suitablity of body type will make it remain so). [emphasis added]

I trust you meant "niggligible" as in "nigonometry" [hat tip to Ray Scissom].

Anonymous said...

Lol !

Mr. Anon said...

The idiots who run the ASO don't seem to be aware that classical music is also known as "negro repellant", as was discovered by the operators of strip-malls.

Melanie said...

@Zenster


Uh, yes...yes, that's what I meant to type :)

LBD said...

Every cultural institution is being corrupted in this manner. This season, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the cast of "As You Like It" was at least 50% black, including Orlando and both of his brothers. Shakespeare is the greatest English writer in history, and is being made to serve every multicultural and diversity agenda.

Zenster said...

LBD: This season, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the cast of "As You Like It" was at least 50% black, including Orlando and both of his brothers.

And people wonder why that theater's Oregon hometown (Ashland), is called "Hashland". Harumph!