Bad news, symphony lovers: Violinist Itzhak Perlman, who was scheduled to perform with the North Carolina Symphony tomorrow night, has canceled his appearance. The statement that he gave to the symphony and his fans follows:
“I have spent a lifetime advocating against discrimination towards those with physical disabilities and have been a vocal advocate for treating all people equally. As such, it is only after much deliberation that I have decided to cancel tomorrow’s concert in North Carolina as a stand against House Bill 2.”
The symphony, which receives a little more than four million dollars from the state each year, will not perform without Perlman. With the announcement, the symphony added that it “welcomes all people with our hearts and minds open, and we are honored to share our music-making with everyone.” Guest violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley recently condemned the legislation from the symphony’s stage.
Thursday, however, will present the opportunity for further discussion of HB 2. Charles Osborne and Leo Hurley, alumni of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, will present their opera The Body Politic on the third floor of the legislative building Thursday afternoon.
Written long before HB 2 came up, the opera tells the story of a transgender Afghan immigrant living in Chapel Hill. It premiered in Boston last week after three years of development. The entire one hundred-seventy member legislature and Governor McCrory were invited to attend the performance, but only eight legislators have confirmed that they’ll attend.
