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Message
Knoxville Symphony Sued for DEI Discrimination
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:33 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:33 pm
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If tweet fails to load, click here. quote:
BLACKLISTED: In September the Knoxville Symphony invited me to their blind audition for Principal Clarinet, which I won by unanimous vote. Two days later their CEO called and refused to hire me, citing my ousting from the Nashville Symphony six years ago for resisting DEI as the reason, and instead gave the job to my runner-up, an obvious DEI hire who’s still in college.
In response I sued the Knoxville Symphony two weeks ago for a year’s salary plus $25k for the 100 hours I spent practicing for the audition. This isn’t just about money though, it’s also about pushing back against these symphony CEOs who continue to put race and politics above merit and skill. Someone has to save our symphonies from being sacrificed on the altar of “diversity” and no one is better positioned to do it than me. Wish I didn’t have to do it but I’m doing it anyway.
I was excited to take the stage with the Knoxville Symphony but instead I’ll see them in court. If Knoxville thought I’d walk away from this they were sorely mistaken.
13
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:36 pm to Jbird
Hit them in the pocketbook and then maybe they'll stop their deviant behaviors.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:42 pm to Jbird
Companies still pushing the DEI shite is like making new cassette tapes. Pointless.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:46 pm to Jbird
I can play the skin flute.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:49 pm to Jbird
quote:
plus $25k for the 100 hours I spent practicing for the audition.
$250 an hour to practice, not even publically perform, the clarinet?? For the KNOXVILLE symphony orchestra?? To practice pieces that could likely be used for any audition, anywhere.
DEI is bullshite, but as a professional musician myself this part is also bullshite & makes me want to know what else is going on here.
Edit: if you're going to pile on at least read my actual post & leave at comment lol
This post was edited on 1/5/26 at 1:40 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:52 pm to AUstar
quote:
I can play the skin flute.
Most popular instrument in the Aggie Band.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 12:53 pm to Bigdawgb
quote:Meh, should have said pain and suffering loss of employment.
DEI is bullshite, but as a professional musician myself this part is also bullshite & makes me want to know what else is going on here
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:17 pm to Jbird
quote:
Meh, should have said pain and suffering loss of employment.
It would've been a lot more believable than $250 an hour to practice, they must be arguing that they had to pay some exorbitant rental rate for a practice facility instead of practicing at home or a church/similar space.
That rate is insane enough though to make me question the rest of the lawsuit. The local symphony pays DMA guys and even professors to drive from FSU, they are every bit as good as this person & they're not getting paid anywhere near that.
This post was edited on 1/5/26 at 1:22 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:19 pm to Bigdawgb
quote:
DEI is bullshite, but as a professional musician myself this part is also bullshite & makes me want to know what else is going on here
Its a starting point to be negotiated if the defense elects to try to settle.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:19 pm to Bigdawgb
quote:
a professional musician myself
What instruments do you play and where do you work?
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:21 pm to Jbird
I just read what can only he described as Grey's Anatomy of the symphony world in a piece about his firing from the Nashville Symphony. It says he believes he was railroaded and that there is evidence of it. It doesn't say that he fought that firing in any way.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:22 pm to tigersbb
quote:
Its a starting point to be negotiated if the defense elects to try to settle.
And I'm pointing out why it's a bad one...Why not start higher?
This post was edited on 1/5/26 at 1:32 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:22 pm to Bigdawgb
Got some more on this dude.
LINK
quote:
James Zimmermann, a Tennessee-based musician with an extensive portfolio that includes work on video games and a performance at former U.S. President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, is suing the Knoxville Symphony, alleging its DEI practices cost him a job.
quote:
Zimmermann said he is suing the Knoxville Symphony for a year’s salary, which he listed at more than $47,000, as well as an additional $25,000 in compensation “for the 100 hours that I spent practicing” for the audition.
“But more than anything, I’m suing because these orchestras can’t keep throwing out their best players to make room for diversity hires and putting race and politics above merit and skill,” Zimmermann said.
LINK
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:22 pm to AUstar
quote:
I can play the skin flute.
HHM says hold my beer!
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:27 pm to LegendInMyMind
quote:Interestuing. Seems some suggestions others were caught up in the Nashville DEI stuff but can't find anything.
It doesn't say that he fought that firing in any way.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:28 pm to geauxbrown
quote:
What instruments do you play and where do you work?
Primary are voice, piano, and organ. I also play drums, bass, and the accordion. I have played mostly in the state of GA & probably the most famous person I've performed with was Andrea Bocelli. I played jazz piano for years at Sea Island and can tell you they aren't paying $250 an hour.
I dont think I'm some hot shite just a regular guy living a comfortable middle class lifestyle from performing music. I feel extremely fortunate because most people in this position have to teach lessons or work in the school system.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:31 pm to Jbird
quote:
Interestuing. Seems some suggestions others were caught up in the Nashville DEI stuff but can't find anything.
Apparently, there is big drama in the symphony world. Most everyone, including his friends, seem to agree that the guy is weird and difficult to work with. It looks like that collided with the DEI bullshite as it began to spiral out of control.
It was a rambling five page 1am email directly to HR that ultimately did him in in Nashville.
Here is the piece I found on his parting of ways with the Nashville Symphony.
This post was edited on 1/5/26 at 1:34 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:38 pm to Bigdawgb
Holy shite LOL this is too funny
quote:
Zimmermann served as principal clarinetist of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade before he was fired in February 2020. At the time, the orchestra alleged that he had racially harassed minority colleagues. Zimmermann and several former colleagues publicly pushed back in 2021, however, arguing that a Black oboist initiated what they described as a witch hunt against him.
quote:
Zimmermann was also the principal clarinetist of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade—that is, until the orchestra fired him last February over accusations of racial harassment. To hear his accusers tell it, Zimmermann had insulted, intimidated, and even stalked his black colleagues, going so far as to menacingly drive by their homes. Human resources had already warned the clarinetist in 2019 that his behaviors could be grounds for dismissal, the orchestra claimed in its termination letter to Zimmermann. His refusal to heed that warning was ostensibly why he was fired in 2020.
quote:
Culture
How Racial Anxiety Conquered an Orchestra and Crushed a Career
Inside the woke convulsions at the Nashville Symphony
The front facade of Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee / Getty Images
Aaron Sibarium
September 22, 2021
Most people haven’t heard of James Zimmermann, but most have heard him. A decorated musician with a long string of acoustic accolades, Zimmermann, 39, has made the sound of his clarinet difficult to avoid. He played at President Barack Obama’s second inaugural, has recorded tracks for best-selling video games, and helped create Walt Disney World’s new theme.
Zimmermann was also the principal clarinetist of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade—that is, until the orchestra fired him last February over accusations of racial harassment. To hear his accusers tell it, Zimmermann had insulted, intimidated, and even stalked his black colleagues, going so far as to menacingly drive by their homes. Human resources had already warned the clarinetist in 2019 that his behaviors could be grounds for dismissal, the orchestra claimed in its termination letter to Zimmermann. His refusal to heed that warning was ostensibly why he was fired in 2020.
But six of Zimmermann’s ex-colleagues and the orchestra’s own documents tell a very different story. They suggest that Zimmermann himself was the target of a witch hunt, instigated by a black oboist whom Zimmermann had stuck his neck out to help.
quote:
The Nashville Symphony was not immune to these pressures, having embarked on several grant-funded diversity initiatives in 2017. After the orchestra broke its own rules to hire an oboist many regarded as unqualified, Zimmermann took an almost obsessive stand. The result was a hushed discontent that crescendoed into crisis, as the orchestra tried and failed to contain the tensions it had created.
quote:
Underwood joined the Nashville Symphony in 2017 as a temporary replacement for the outgoing principal oboist. To get the job permanently, he needed to win a blind audition held in March 2019. Underwood’s playing had been inconsistent since his arrival at the symphony, members of the Nashville Symphony’s woodwind section told the Washington Free Beacon, but he would now be given a chance to prove himself without any baggage—provided he remained anonymous.
But Underwood was inadvertently outed in the final round of the audition. The audition committee, including Zimmermann, had narrowed it down to one candidate, but whoever was behind the curtain hadn’t impressed. That meant they had two options: send the candidate home and hold another audition, or give the candidate a trial period and make a decision at the end of it. Before they could finish deliberating, a violinist—having misjudged the need for anonymity—burst out from behind the screen and announced that the candidate was Titus Underwood.
quote:LINK
The orchestra relented and gave Underwood a two-week trial period, in keeping with terms of the orchestra’s union contract. If the committee was satisfied with the oboist’s performance during those two weeks, he’d be awarded the permanent position. However the committee ultimately voted, Underwood now had a chance to win the job based on merit, by the book.
But a vote was never held.
After the first trial week, Guerrero unilaterally appointed Underwood without the consent of the committee, a direct violation of the orchestra’s own rules. This unprecedented step, several musicians said, seemed to have been motivated by Underwood’s race.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:40 pm to LegendInMyMind
quote:My daughters played all through dschool and college, you don't know the half of it concerning musicians and drama.
Apparently, there is big drama in the symphony world.
So two drummers on the marching band drum line go to blows after a competition, one had orange sticks, the other black.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:42 pm to Bigdawgb
quote:
I feel extremely fortunate because most people in this position have to teach lessons or work in the school system.
Yes.
Thanks for sharing. I'm always interested in other musicians and what they're making.
I have a Yacht Rock group that does pretty well. It's a large group though, 10 pieces with horns, but for some reason folks are willing to pay good money for it.
Also, being in Georgia....look up Equinox Orchestra.
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