Sunday, February 24, 2013
Cobb school board member David Banks' recollections of Tuesday's choral event with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
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Sunday, February 24
From The Grapevine, Cobb Board of Education member David Banks' e-mail newsletter. He was at Tuesday's concert at Lassiter featuring the Lassiter and Walton choruses and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians: What a fantastic night! You could not have asked for a better night of musical performance then listening and watching the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra along with the Lassiter and Walton choirs at their best. Conducting was Walton's Chorus Director Dr. Jana Williams, Lassiter's Chorus Director Mr. Brian Williams, and the ASO Staff Conductor Mr. Jere Flint. If you are wondering, the Williams are a married couple. Notables in attendance were Post 1 Board member Mr. Randy Scamihorn and his wife Debbie, I and my wife Kay, Chief of Staff Mrs…
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday night's joint concert with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians is a "once in a lifetime" event.
Several months after a flap that ended their holiday concerts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, two East Cobb high school choruses will get their chance to share the stage with the pros tonight. At the new Lassiter High School Concert Hall, the Lassiter and Walton choruses will appear with ASO musicians in a long-promised concert. The event, which begins at 7 p.m., features a total of nearly 200 students, plus more than 60 ASO musicians, and will benefit the booster clubs of both school choruses. "My kids are so excited, they're about to pop," Lassiter chorus director Brian Williams said. "It's been a wonderful thing to see them prepare for this. It's been a real learning experience. We want it to be something that falls into the music …
Monday, February 4, 2013
The long-promised joint performance has been scheduled for Feb. 19 and at the new Lassiter performing arts theater.
Friday, February 1, 2013
The long-promised joint performance has been scheduled for Feb. 19 and will include students from Walton High School.
After a controversy involving the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra last summer, chorus members from two East Cobb high schools will finally get to perform with the pros. The Marietta Daily Journal reported this week that ASO musicians will perform with students from Lassiter High School and Walton High School on Feb. 19. The concert begins at 7:30 in the new performing arts center at Lassiter, and will feature the work of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and others, according to the MDJ story, which also reported that proceeds will benefit the Lassiter and Walton choral booster clubs. Tickets are $21 in advance and can be ordered online. They are non-refundable. The cost for tickets at the door will be $25. Visit the Lassiter Chorus website for more …
Friday, August 17, 2012
The musicians at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are offering to come to all three high schools involved in the chorus "diversity" controversy for free and perform with each choral group.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association (ASOPA) is offering to travel to three high schools caught up in an alleged snubbing by ASO mangement on the grounds of "diversity" to perform with their choral groups for free, the association has said in a press release. "[The Association] has sat by in dismay for the past several days observing the ASO management’s disintegrating relations with Lassiter, Walton, and Grady High Schools, and the whole community," ASOPA said. "As musicians who love to play with the talented choruses at these schools, we want to help resolve these ongoing issues." ASOPA's offer is as follows: the musicians will travel to all three schools for free to put on a concert with each choral group. The schools may…
Does week's decision affecting the Walton and Lassiter choruses have its roots in what Tim Lee said about TSPLOST?
Did Tim Lee cause the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus to snub the Walton High School and Lassiter High School choral programs? Why would I ask such a preposterous question? After years of routine inclusion, the ASO Chorus has excluded these two outstanding choral programs. Granted, the ASO has come back and "clarified" its action. Apparently it didn't REALLY mean Walton and Lassiter were not "diverse" enough, it just wants to "include" a school from the inner city. Still, the original statement is usually the closest to the truth and everything else is spin or CYA. If you've been around long enough, you know of the love/hate relationship between Atlanta proper and its suburban neighbors, especially Cobb County. They love our money and …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has denied allegations that Lassiter and Walton High Schools will not be allowed to perform in full with the orchestra because of their racial makeup.
Update, 3:50 p.m.: Jay Dillon, the Cobb County School District spokesperson who was quoted in the original 11 Alive story, has released the following statement to news agencies: For the past four years, the Lassiter and Walton high school choruses have performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. This year, the schools were informed by Symphony officials that their choruses are not diverse enough, and that the Symphony would be inviting a third, more diverse chorus. Because of limited space, only a portion of the Lassiter and Walton choruses would therefore be able to attend. Cobb County School District choral programs are open to all students, and participation in these programs is determined on the basis of merit alone. Because the …
Dutch Weiner
10:10 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
When minorities are given a fake boost, it does not really help them in the end because, ultimately, a person's occupational value depends on the demand for tbeir work product. When these Walton/Lasiter students are sitting behind a desk interviewing job candidates at some point in the future, I wonder if this lesson in "diversity" will have an effect, consciously or subconsciously, on their … more ›