During the summer months, music festivals abound all over the globe. Some are fully professional and others are distinguished by their educational activities. I don’t have a preference, but in recent years, a disturbing trend has emerged from the latter.

About 12 years ago, when my son was 8, he played soccer for his middle-school team. Every Saturday, as a somewhat dutiful parent, I showed up and watched this sport, which seemed as far away from the culture I grew up in as it is prevalent today.

Several months ago, I wrote on this site about the lack of younger American talent on the podiums of major orchestras in the United States. Since there are still a couple of ensembles that have not yet announced their 14-15 season plans, the follow-up article is still in limbo.

It is always astonishing when a simple gesture leads to a heated debate. At the start of a tour to Florida with the Detroit Symphony, we decided to try something just a bit different. When the program concluded, I asked the audience to do something completely opposite of what the Voice of God told them at the top of the show.

I have been working on a new chapter of a book about the challenges faced by the classical music industry. That portion is concerned with discrimination as it has manifested itself and where we are today.