This is not ok.

We at Conn-Selmer, Bach & Ludwig are filled with sadness and grief over the images of violence that we have all seen on screens around the world.

The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others have cast a long shadow that requires all of us to confront the reality of injustice and oppressive weight of racism that persists in our communities.

Silence is comfortable, but it is not an option.

Instead, we choose to speak out, joining our passionate community of artists, musicians, educators and employees in a unified chorus of support that demands tolerance and equality for all members of the Black community. Equality in America, and around the world.

While many of us may never personally experience the scourge of racism on our own lives, we must all recognize and acknowledge its presence so that we can join together and lobby for change.

Music is fueled by diversity.

As humans, we all speak the language of music. And as members of the music community we know that diversity and inclusion drive creativity that has produced some of the greatest music of our time.

We stand in solidarity with our diverse family of players, artists, and employees against injustice and we humbly use our stage to uphold equality and inclusion. We stand with you to amplify this message.

Peace and Justice.

Let us continue to peacefully voice the need for a better tomorrow.  All of humanity must be accountable to make lasting change a possibility. “Peace on the left, justice on the right.”

And finally, a call to action from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who wrote, in a Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

We can and must do better.

Stephen Zapf, CEO
Conn-Selmer & Ludwig

#TheShowMustBePaused