Tennessee Musician Sues Knoxville Symphony Over Discriminatory DEI Practices

Image Credit: @jameszimmermann / X

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

Decorated musician James Zimmerman has filed suit against the Knoxville Symphony for discriminatory hiring practices, alleging they showed prejudice against him due to his skin color and chose a lesser-qualified candidate because of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) guidelines.

Zimmerman, a homeschool father of three girls, took to social media to further explain the scenario, recounting his invitation to the blind audition for Principal Clarinet, which he won by unanimous vote.

“Two days later, their CEO called and refused to hire me, citing my ousting from the Nashville Symphony six years ago for resisting DEI as the reason, and instead gave the job to my runner-up, an obvious DEI hire who’s still in college,” he said.

Regarding his expulsion from the Nashville Symphony in February of 2020, where he was Principal Clarinet for 12 years, Zimmerman explained he “got cancelled for resisting DEI. It’s a long story, easy to Google if you feel like it.”

In short, the Nashville orchestra alleged he had racially harassed minority colleagues, but Zimmerman and several former colleagues publicly pushed back in 2021, arguing that a Black oboist initiated a “witch hunt” against him.

To lend more credibility to his claims of discriminatory practices by the Knoxville Symphony, the musician further detailed his credentials, discussing his work at Disney, on video game, television, and movie soundtracks, performances at Presidential inaugurations, and his experience as a session player in Nashville. 

He relayed that he practiced for the audition for over two months and believes he was denied a job, and the corresponding salary since he won the audition, because he did not meet the organization’s diversity standards and had a history of resisting unlawful DEI practices. In response, he filed suit against the symphony for a year’s salary plus an additional $25,000 for the 100 hours he spent practicing for the audition.

But money isn’t the true motivator for the suit, according to Zimmerman.

“This isn’t just about money though, it’s also about pushing back against these symphony CEOs who continue to put race and politics above merit and skill,” he said. “Someone has to save our symphonies from being sacrificed on the altar of ‘diversity’ and no one is better positioned to do it than me. Wish I didn’t have to do it but I’m doing it anyway.”

Zimmerman also believes his suit is important because the Knoxville Symphony’s decision, and similar ones made by other orchestras will “lower the quality of the music, alienate audiences, and turn the arts into politics.”

At the time of this writing, Knoxville Symphony CEO Rachel Ford has not commented on Zimmermans’s lawsuit, though reportedly the organization expects to make a public announcement on the matter later this week.

The story has garnered national attention, including from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division who says they are, “On it.” Conservative social media commentators are also championing Zimmermans plight, with one page having over 800,000 views on their post sharing the story and cheering him on as he pushes back against the progressive agenda in the arts.

“There are still detractors out there, but they’re vastly outnumbered by people wanting to push back against the insanity of DEI,” Zimmerman said in a statement to Fox Digital. “A blind audition is the most meritocratic system imaginable, and it’s clear that people see Knoxville’s refusal to hire me as an attack on meritocracy. You don’t have to be a symphony aficionado to understand how outrageous this is.”

“I was excited to take the stage with the Knoxville Symphony but instead I’ll see them in court. If Knoxville thought I’d walk away from this they were sorely mistaken,” Zimmerman declared. 

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.