Statement of Response to the MusicWorks Community

Dear MusicWorks Friends and Family,

Like much of the country, MusicWorks Asheville mourns at the suffering that racism in the United States is causing. Centuries of oppression and racial profiling daily impact many of our families and friends at MusicWorks. We are committed to working to change these circumstances. 

Maestro Jose Antonio Abreu said of El Sistema:

“[El Sistema is] No longer putting society at the service of art, and much less at the services of monopolies of the elite, but instead art at the service of society, at the service of the weakest, at the service of the children, at the service of the sick, at the service of the vulnerable, and at the service of all those who cry for vindication through the spirit of their human condition and the raising up of their dignity.”

https://blog.ted.com/_weve_transcrib/

At MusicWorks we are dedicated to this ideal while we also recognize that there is still room for us to do better. We want our extended family and friends of MusicWorks to know the following:

We recognize that race is an important part of our students’ lives and that racism is a reality, not a remnant of a distant past.
We will continue to make participation in MusicWorks available to all students, regardless of race or economic background. We will strive towards making the demographic of our MusicWorks students mirror the community that we serve.
MusicWorks is proud of the diversity of our staff and we will continue to model diversity to our students through our guest performers, guest teachers, musical repertoire, and other materials. 

Lastly, we recognize that we can do more. We want to start a dialogue and hear your concerns and thoughts. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have ideas how we be more supportive to our students and their families.

In solidarity,

Dr. Dave Wilken, Program Director
MW BoD
MW staff