(...) “If ensembles are to reflect the communities they serve,” he wrote, “the audition process should take into account race, gender

Pitting what’s seen as meritocracy in its purest form against the diversity standards of the day was doomed from the start. (...)

I’ve called for an end to the practice of blind auditions for years.

To make a contentious change requires the buy-in of many different kinds of people. One person’s call for “representation” is another’s outrage at “quotas.” I believe we can—and should—elevate this conversation past that endless, tiresome tug-of-war. (....)