Hundreds of American orchestral musicians, conductors and administrators have put their signatures to an open letter, Musicians for Democracy, in an attempt to highlight and challenge challenges to artistic free speech emerging in the first months of the second Donald Trump presidency.

Joyce DiDonato. Photo supplied

Among the high-profile signatories are the soprano Joyce DiDonato, pianist Jonathan Biss, violinists Midori, Miriam Fried and Noah Bendix-Balgley, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and composers Frank Ticheli, Kevin Puts and Jake Heggie.

“We, the undersigned, are American classical musicians,” the letter begins. “Our passion and mission are making music and, in doing so, offering listeners the possibility of deepening their experience and understanding of the world. We are not politicians: We are working citizens who are drawn to music because of its capacity to bridge different viewpoints and cultures, and to connect us through our shared humanity.”

The letter points to an increasing sense of insecurity in the sector relating to job losses, censorship and what it labels “retaliatory measures”.

“True freedom of speech — free from both censorship and fear of retaliation — is the bedrock of the American project: It stands as the First Amendment to...