Pianist sues Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for cancelling his concert allegedly over Gaza stance
Pianist sues Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for cancelling his concert allegedly over Gaza stance
Jayson Gillham claims he was ‘silenced for speaking the truth’ and says situation ‘strikes at the heart of our right to free speech’
Witness by Connor D'Netto is available for purchase through Bandcamp.
All proceeds from the Bandcamp release will be donated to Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA) para.org.au
As noted by @tombruzzo@aussie.zone in the comments Bandcamp Fridays (where Bandcamp waives their revenue share and pass the funds directly to artists & labels) starts at 5pm AEST Friday Oct 4 and goes for 24 hours is on. If someone knows exactly when it ends I can update this post.
At a concert in the Iwaki Auditorium in Southbank on 11 August, Gillham played a short piece written by Connor D’Netto called Witness, which is dedicated to journalists who have lost their lives in the Gaza conflict.
Introducing the work, the pianist addressed the audience, stating more than 100 Palestinian journalists had been killed, and that the targeting of journalists in a conflict was a war crime under international law.
I cannot tell from this that he made a political statement at all, sounds like he just stated some facts. It doesn't seem like he said the Israel were even targeting journalists (something which could be reasonably made out as a political statement since there is no concrete evidence to suggest either).