Sydney Symphony Orchestra Slammed For Tone Deaf Stance On SSM Survey

Since the Government’s announcement of the Same-Sex Marriage postal survey, many business and organisations, from sports teams to media outlets to independent retailers, have used their connection with the public to advocate for the Yes campaign. Amongst this number, arts organisations have been some of the fastest to show their support for the LGBTQ community, with many opting to update their social media profiles with rainbow colours in solidarity. However, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra drew criticism today for announcing its intention to remain “neutral” on the highly contentious issue.

The statement released by the orchestra earlier today followed a whistle-blowing Facebook post by notable arts leader Leo Schofield, formerly the Director of both Sydney and Melbourne Festivals, and the inaugural Chair of the SSO Board from 1996 to 2000. In his post, Schofield revealed that staff at the orchestra had been notified that, by a unanimous decision of its Board, the SSO would not be publically supporting the Yes campaign. He went on to add, that the decision defied, “the palpable solidarity of the arts community and its manifold supporters.” The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is the only major State orchestra not to support the Yes campaign.

In apparent response to Schofield’s criticism, the SSO Board published a statement earlier today – printed in full below – saying that the company felt it didn’t have “the right to take a position and commit [its] stakeholders to one side of the other,” adding that it had decided to remain “neutral”. It concluded its statement saying: “We urge all Australians to respect the democratic process of the majority decision, one way or the other, in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation towards each other in a peaceful resolution.”

The response to the statement was overwhelmingly negative, with hundreds of comments slamming the orchestra’s chosen stance as “weak”, “cowardly” and “disappointing”. Amongst the commenters were some of Australia’s top classical musicians. Former SSO principal trumpet Daniel Mendelow wrote, “As a former Principal member of the SSO for some three and one-half decades, I am quite frankly disappointed at this verbose declaration of non-committal. Lots of words that mean very little. The SSO I remember embraced and supported the entire arts community, enthusiastically participating in LGBT Arts events throughout the years. I remember emotionally charged performances of John Corigliano and Henryk Gorecki in collaboration with the Mardi-Gras arts festival. I somehow suspect this non-committal stance would not sit very well with one of our former Music Directors, Stuart Challender. This is not how the orchestra he loved and virtually gave his life for should be honoring his memory.”

Composer Lyle Chan, a gay rights activist and winner of the 2017 APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for Best Orchestral Work for My Dear Benjamin, a work exploring the first gay relationship of Benjamin Britten, told The Music: "Unfortunately, Sydney Symphony will find itself on the wrong side of history. Other countries have shown it’s just a matter of time before marriage equality is law. Classical music is a long game. Historians still write about Goossens’ treatment when Australian society was prudish and about Joan Sutherland’s statement about Chinese and Indian clerks at post offices. The great woman that she was, La Stupenda changed her mind when she realised the offence she caused. I would love to see Sydney Symphony do the same and not have this ‘statement of neutrality’ become an enduring anecdote in classical music history."

Sally Whitwell, the ARIA Award-winning pianist, composer, and conductor, shared her concern for the message the orchestra’s statement was sending its younger patrons: “Is the SSO pandering to their perceived audience demographic? I don't know, I wasn't in the boardroom when it was discussed. I can really only speak for myself and my personal experience and why I feel it's important as a Classical musician myself to speak up for the LGBTQ community. I'm gay myself, so I guess I'm biased. I also work with a lot of LGBTQ musicians in the industry, some of whom are very outspoken and some of whom are not. That's their right I suppose, to stay quiet, but lately their lack of action makes me feel a kind of pressure, a particular responsibility to be not only out and proud but also to be the best role model I can be to the young musicians with whom I work. I hear a lot of stories from young LGBTQ musicians, happy stories but also stories of bullying, of verbal abuse, of negative pressure from family and religious institutions. At best they are stories of feeling unsupported, at worst they speak of being thrown out of their home, self-harming or having suicidal thoughts. When a desperate teenager reaches out to you with a horrible story like that, you can't not act on it. So I declare my support for the Yes campaign without reservation. And to the kids I say, 'You're all right. And if you're not, well, you know where to find me and my shoulder has unlimited absorbency'."

The full Sydney Symphony Orchestra Statement

“The SSO is a highly-respected organisation spanning more than 85 years with members, concert- goers, very generous sponsors and donors, not to mention loyal and committed staff and musicians, all of whom come from wide and diverse backgrounds and opinions.

“It has always been the case that the SSO has engendered organisational initiatives and performances that reflect an abiding commitment to inclusiveness, fairness and acceptance and that the company has at its core a commitment to everyone in our community – regardless of gender, orientation, cultural background or religious beliefs – of performing music to the highest calibre for which the orchestra is celebrated around the world.

“There is no question that the SSO strongly supports the rights of all citizens to place on the record their views, by way of the private and confidential postal plebiscite and as such, the company does not feel it has the right to take a position and commit our stakeholders to one side or the other and has decided it should remain neutral. We urge all Australians to respect the democratic process of the majority decision, one way or the other, in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation towards each other in a peaceful resolution.”