There is a legitimate debate as to whether taxpayers should fund cultural institutions, such as the arts and music. For now, the broad consensus is yes. But there’s an implicit agreement: these institutions exist to serve the public and not a radical political agenda.
That framework has been under assault around the country for years. In Tennessee in 2020, the woke mob quietly blacklisted an accomplished clarinetist, forcing residents to bankroll discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
James Zimmermann was fired by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra after 12 years as its principal clarinetist. This wasn’t a blip on Zimmermann’s resumé. After more than a decade of leading his woodwind section and never having his reputation questioned, he was railroaded in a DEI-driven dispute to justify the firing of an outspoken conservative to appease liberal cancel culture.
Zimmermann had dared to stand firm on the importance of fully screened, “blind” auditions. This long-standing practice of all but the five largest U.S. symphonies requires musicians to audition behind a screen, ensuring only the best performers are hired, regardless of gender, race, age, or the personal preferences of biased executives.
Blind auditions let talent speak for itself. But like many organizations, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra became more inclined to cave to the demands of DEI ideologues.
Before long, Zimmermann’s belief in fairness and preserving the meritocracy of the orchestra was twisted into something sinister. While his accuser painted a picture of racism, many of Zimmermann’s former colleagues tell a different story, describing the ordeal as a witch hunt.
But what followed years later in Knoxville should really alarm most Tennessee taxpayers.
In September 2025, Zimmermann was invited to audition for the full-time principal clarinet position with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The audition was fully screened from start to finish, and he advanced through every round with excellence. He was told he had been selected as the top performer and would “be on the payroll” within two weeks.
But when the screen came down, so did the job offer.
As soon as Knoxville Symphony Orchestra executives realized a conservative had won — someone who refused to bow down to the DEI mob — the CEO called to inform him they were reversing the decision. They had suddenly determined he was not “adequately committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion anti-racist principles” based on the debacle at the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
To add insult to injury, instead of hiring Zimmerman, they hired a DEI candidate who didn’t perform as well but checked the other boxes that mattered more than talent behind the screen.
In a profession that should hold meritocracy in the highest regard, the standard operating procedure was tossed because Zimmermann was unapologetic about his conservative views.
Zimmermann is now fighting back, not only for his own compensation and relief, but to expose a system that openly discriminates against conservatives on the backs of taxpayers.
Over half of Americans reject the idea of DEI programs in any workplace, and they have every right to know when it’s being imposed at taxpayer expense. If these institutions want to behave like activist organizations or PACs, they should fund themselves like activist organizations: through private donors who deem their out-of-place political advocacy important enough to pay for it. Our Constitution guarantees your First Amendment right to speak, even unpopular ideas, but it’s on your own dime or the dime of those who agree with you, not the taxpayers.
RESTORING AMERICA: JOSH HAWLEY IS A PRO-LIFE HERO
The people of Tennessee shouldn’t be forced to subsidize music organizations that glorify woke garbage, discard merit, and punish those who disagree — especially a longtime Tennessee resident with an impressive resumé and extensive experience.
Discrimination dressed up as social justice is still discrimination, and taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the bill.
Shaun McCutcheon is chairman of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation. An avid free speech advocate, he was also the successful plaintiff in the 2014 Supreme Court case McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.
