Three years after Anthony Tommasini, longtime classical music critic for the New York Times, published a controversial piece calling for the end of the blind audition for orchestras, many music institutions around the country have moved to embrace his idea that race should be considered in hiring decisions rather than merit alone. 

While Tommasini admitted that historically blind auditions “proved transformative,” especially in boosting female representation among orchestras, he said blind auditions no longer work because they are not addressing what he described as the “appalling racial imbalance” among orchestral ensembles. It’s notable that when making this argument, he failed to note the success Asian artists have experienced in securing U.S. orchestral jobs, especially with elite groups such as the New York Philharmonic, which continues today, according to new data released earlier this year.