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this is Elaine jones a woman and black, probably the only black timpanist with any major orchestra in this country and she is a musician who is deeply troubled. Elaine jones was raised in Harlem broke out of the ghetto with scholarships to Juilliard played Tympani for 11

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years with the new york city Opera for another 10 with the American Symphony under Leopold stakhovsky. And in 1972 she came here to play with the san Francisco symphony. Three years later she was out of a job. A symphony committee supposedly judging on ability and performance

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had twice voted to deny her tenure. So Elaine jones has gone to court to seek reinstatement with the orchestra back pay and compensation for the anguish she has suffered. Mhm. In a way, Elaine jones has been fighting battles all her life, racism,

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sexism, whatever it's called. But she has had her victories to critics including those from san Francisco. Hava claimed her work as of many fellow musicians. She is a talented teacher at the san Francisco conservatory of music. And knowing that court cases can take years, she keeps

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in shape on her drums as she looks forward to the day when she'll be back with the symphony. Mm hmm mm hmm. It has been quite quite difficult. Not only playing, but trying to live through all this And living with myself too. Which is kind of

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hard because you know you you begin to question well, am I really a good performer, Am I am I a worthy person. And you know, they say you should always say you're worthy. So I have to deal with that and I listened to other people and

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and I have more confidence in myself. Am I? I am. I've done a job. I think I've done a very good job and in some cases I think I've done a job probably far and beyond the call of duty most people and I think a lot

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of this is due to the fact that I've always felt I was black and women, so therefore I had to be a little bit better and there's no room for me too. Take it easy. Elaine jones is obviously still in very good form. We don't know

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whether she'll ever play with the SAN Francisco symphony again. That will be up to the court to decide. We do know she will carry the scars of this fight with her for the rest of her life In San Francisco. Bill Hillman, Channel five Eyewitness News