Little Orchestra, Big-Time Politics

The chairman of the Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) Symphony Orchestra has stepped down following a wave of protest over the recent dismissal of the orchestra’s principal conductor. However, a group of donors which had gathered 500 signatures opposing Martin Fischer-Dieskau’s dismissal, and had called for the entire board of directors to resign, is still angry, saying that the resignation of one man is unlikely to convince the board to reverse its decision. Most of the frustration seems to stem from the board’s unwillingness even to explain the reasons for Fischer-Dieskau’s dismissal.