Name: MPR fires its only Black classical music host in dispute of playlist changes
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MPR fires its only Black classical music host in dispute of playlist changes

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By | Pioneer PressSt. Paul-based Minnesota Public Radio fired , its only Black classical music radio host, this week after a yearlong conflict over playlist changes.“Our decision was not sudden and came after several conversations with Garrett over the past year regarding programming changes,” Friday. “The warnings presented to Garrett were not tied to his choice of music or the reasons for his unauthorized changes to playlists. He was able to make changes to the playlist, but the manner in which he made changes is what caused an issue.”MPR issued the statement after McQueen’s comments in gave the impression that he was fired for attempting to make the classical music service more diverse.Hired two years ago as an overnight host on the syndicated Classical 24 music service, McQueen told MPR News that he was taken off the air after his shift on Aug. 25. He was then given two warnings. He was told to improve his communication and not to switch out scheduled music to play pieces he felt were more appropriate or more diverse.McQueen told MPR News that he would change the playlists to fit what was happening in the world and to add more diversity to what he considered music that “only represented dead white men.”“To be clear: I did not return to the air between Aug. 25 and my termination,” he said. “My refusal to abide by programming guidelines was indeed against protocol. It was also my solution to increasing the station’s diverse programming, which Classical MPR acknowledges as being at 24 percent.”MPR president Duchesne Drew and Dave Kansas, the president of the affiliated American Public Media, said there is a process in place for changing playlists that ensures the music is in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act so royalties are properly paid for the music played.“While we typically do not discuss the details of employee departures, the experience we’ve seen described publicly does not accurately describe what has occurred,” their statement said.A bassoonist turned radio host, McQueen is also the executive producer of “Trilloquy,” a classical music podcast.On “,” McQueen interviews Black composers and musicians and was vocal in his desire to shake up classical music, refusing to play pieces by composers he felt had profited off the slave trade. He plans to explain his departure on Wednesday’s podcast.He preferred to play music from diverse artists such as Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson who wrote “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed.” The piece contains seven movements, each of which quotes the last words of an unarmed Black man before he was killed.On June 5, that “this lack of diverse perspective has resulted in the ‘white-washing’ of many dark corners of classical music history, including George Frideric Handel’s fiscal investments in the slave trade (which allowed him to write the famous Messiah) and Frederick Delius’ time managing a plantation being remembered as a job on an American ‘farm.'”MPR insisted that McQueen’s firing had nothing to do with race.“Across Classical MPR, 24 percent of the music we play features a composer, conductor or soloist who is a woman and/or a Black person, Indigenous person, or Person of Color. We are committed to increasing this number,” MPR said.McQueen said he is looking to the future.“I feel that my path and my values have led me here,” he said. “I’m looking forward to my next steps, and I’m considering work both in and outside of music.”I’m overwhelmed, beyond words, and deeply humbled by the outpouring of support – thank you.I’ll make my official statement on Wednesday’s opus of TRILLOQUY, which will be titled, “The 24 Percent”.— Bassooncé Unchained (@GarrettMcQueen)We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Sign up for Newsletters and AlertsFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | Pioneer PressSt. Paul-based Minnesota Public Radio fired , its only Black classical music radio host, this week after a yearlong conflict over playlist changes.“Our decision was not sudden and came after several conversations with Garrett over the past year regarding programming changes,” Friday. “The warnings presented to Garrett were not tied to his choice of music or the reasons for his unauthorized changes to playlists. He was able to make changes to the playlist, but the manner in which he made changes is what caused an issue.”MPR issued the statement after McQueen’s comments in...

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Deanna Weniger

Twin Cities news, sports, politics, entertainment and business from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota's first newspaper.

MPR fires its only Black classical music host in dispute of playlist changes

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