The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has announced plans to recruit and welcome 100 young musicians from underrepresented communities into its lineup next season. The move is a direct response to a hostile encounter University of Toronto international security professor Aisha Ahmad had last week, when she said a male patron attacked her and called her a “bitch” before a performance at Roy Thomson Hall. At the time of the incident she said she was the only person of colour sitting in the section. The offender has been banned from future TSO events, but Ahmad and her colleague David Welch followed up with the symphony requesting the organization show its commitment to diversity and inclusion by reaching out to marginalized communities and welcoming them into the orchestra space. “I am so delighted and thrilled that they’re stepping up and taking this concrete action,” said Ahmad.

Source: thestar June 27, 2017 21:45 UTC