“The ensemble was founded in 1948 by pianist Mabel Massengill Gunn in what was then the largely black southeast part of town, at a time when blacks were shut out of most major orchestras. Southeast’s mandate of providing a place for black players to hone their skills and receive support from one another is simple, but it has not always been easy to carry out. When Dickerson took over, only four of the 56 players were African American. Now, 82 of the 95 scheduled to play in Disney Hall are black.”