For several years now, my printed and on-line comments (Opera-L, the Moderated Classical Music List, and elsewhere) about Michael Morgan included a reference which I found today to be incorrect. Morgan, music director of the Walnut Creek Festival Opera and the Oakland East Bay Symphony, suggested that I set the record straight, and I am glad to do so, especially in order to stop perpetuating the story. Soon after Morgan came to Oakland some 10 years ago, having conducted the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Louis Farrakhan as the soloist in Chicago and North Carolina's Gateways Music Festival, sources close to him said here that Morgan was planning to use Farrakhan as the soloist in the Beethoven Violin Concerto in Oakland as well. The venue was to be the first subscription concert of Morgan's orchestra -- almost all white, playing under an African-American conductor, in a community constantly, and mostly successfully, struggling with issues of race. The Oakland Symphony, predecessor to Morgan's OEBS, was directed by an other African-American artist, the superbly talented Calvin Simmons, and for years, I reported on his brilliant and tragically short career. Calvin's cause was Mozart; could his successor favor Farrakhan instead? This was at a time when Farrakhan hit his stride in anti-Semitic, anti-gay, anti-white tirades. Along with many others, I was deeply upset by the possibility of his coming to Oakland through the "backdoor" of the Symphony. Unlike others, I didn't drop the matter, and kept mentioning it, even though the alleged plan never materialized. I don't recall details of a press conference back then, but I believe Morgan was asked about Farrakhan, and his response was not clear, although he apparently indicated that he has no plans to engage him. Fast-forward to 2000, and a note I just received from Morgan: "I was looking back through old opera list reports and saw that you thought I had tried to engage Louis Farrakhan for a concert in Oakland. I'm happy to say that I never did that. I gave up on the minister years before when I couldn't get him to publicly renounce his previous statements about Jews, not to mention homosexuals and others. I don't know where these rumors come from but I can assure you I've had nothing to do with the man for many years. I did feel, however, that I made some headway during that time towards making my views on black antisemitism known to the black community, as I feel it is FAR more destructive and corrosive to the black communty than to the Jewish. It is an evil which I believe says more about the hater than the hated." I applaud Morgan's clear, strong statement, and apologize for perpetuating the story I now understand to be untrue. When I asked Morgan how the rumor started in the first place, he wrote the following: "I was trying to broker an apology and reconciliation between the minister and some of the Jewish leaders in Chicago. I was in constant touch with both sides including a Board Member of the Anti Defamation League (who was co-chairing my farewell gala in Chicago) but I could never get Farrakhan to go as far as he needed to go. But my feeling is that if you see even the possibility of doing some good in the world, you have to try. Failure is still better than not making the attempt. Haven't seen the man since. "I guess some people assumed that I, God forbid, actually agreed with him about ANYTHING other than the importance of classical music training in the basic education of black kids. (By the way I'm stopped by black kids who have seen the tape of his playing Mendelssohn in Chicago and they WERE positively effected by it.) "This has brought back a flood of, why don't we just say, `uneven' memories. Just thought you should know. But I certainly understand how you would feel the way you did if you thought I had done that. So no hard feelings whatsoever." Again, I appreciate the essence and tone of the message, and regret not exploring it before with the man who was suspected of something he now emphatically denies. About that long-ago press conference when he was asked the question outright, Morgan too has difficulty recalling details, but even so, he takes responsibility: "I wish I did (remember), but I'm sure I was trying to dodge the question all around and that's what left the wrong impression. Plus some of the Nation of Islam types were making noises about the Mendelssohn happening out here. But no one in his right mind would try to do such a thing with a standing orchestra. When we did it in Chicago, we had a pickup orchestra of all kinds of people. Two contractors even: one black and one Jewish. It was never less than interesting. And come to think of it, I think Farrakhan thought he was going to be invited out here since he seemed to think we were going to do some kind of world tour together. Not the only time I've known him to be a bit delusional. He's actually a very complicated man and like most people, not entirely good or evil." My apology applies only to Morgan; if in some way I offended Farrakhan, I am glad of it. [log in to unmask], SF Attachments to [log in to unmask]