I'm a classical musician in one of the Big Five orchestras (Cleveland /Philly/Chicago/New York /Boston). I got really angry after reading this because winning an audition is something we all have in common in the orchestra. We know we all got there because of our good playing and nothing else.

I would support some sort of funding for music education to help children with lessons. I think more could be done to encourage music study but the truth is, it's a horrible long slog to get one of these jobs, and there are many people graduating every year who are amazing players. There are no guarantees, no clear path to success. It's bad odds and I sacrificed a lot of my youth to get here. I have definitely advised young students about the uphill battle they face.

I wonder, if this music critic is so concerned about diversity why he doesn't start with the staff at the Times. All the music critics are white, gay men with similar narrow musical backgrounds. But you can't point out things like that.

And yes, 2x Obama voter and Bernie supporter who now cringes to think about it. Trump 2020!