ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra said they are reaching out to three high schools to heal the damage done by a racially charged comment made by the ASO management.
They have offered to volunteer their time and perform with the choirs of the affected schools at the schools. The musicians said the schools can use the performance as fundraisers.
For the past several years, the choirs of Lassister and Walton high schools in Cobb County have performed with the ASO. Stanley Romanstein, president of ASO, told Lassister and Walton high schools their choirs were not diverse enough. They were told some of their choir members could sing, but not all members, and Atlanta's Grady High School choir would sing instead.
Colin Williams spoke on behalf of the The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players' Association. "We were all pretty surprised because we didn't feel it reflected what we thought," Williams said of the comment. He said the musicians found out about the statement from the news.
"We all believe in diversity and inclusiveness and we feel terrible for all these communities who are caught up in this thing," said Williams.
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