League Statement on Travel Ban Executive Order

January 30, 2017

The music that orchestras play and the communities they serve are global and include people and cultures from the seven countries that are now subject to the travel ban issued by executive order on January 27. We firmly believe that concerns related to national security can be addressed while also continuing to welcome people beyond our borders.

The League of American Orchestras believes in the power of music to communicate across differences, express and animate the issues of our time, and advance international diplomacy and our democracy. With each concert U.S. orchestras perform here and abroad, as many as 100 musicians from diverse traditions, faiths, and political perspectives play in unison in the shared pursuit of artistic expression. 

Musicians don’t just play, they listen with purpose. In a time of unprecedented divisions in our country, intentionally listening to the full spectrum of voices is key to our nation’s progress. Democracy, like music, flourishes when we encourage, acknowledge, and respectfully engage with a diversity of ideas.

The League of American Orchestras’ website dedicated to facilitating international cultural activity by artists of all genres, ArtistsfromAbroad.org, contains comprehensive information about the artist visa process, including ongoing updates related to the January 27 executive order’s restrictions on guest artists from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

View the League’s diversity statement.