Watertown Board Cites ‘Indoctrination’ In Ban On LGBTQ+ Themed Music
Officials say the instrumental work violates a controversial issues policy.
Watertown parents and community members protested the removal of a piece of music on May 12, 2026. Photo submitted from Wendy Pliska
Watertown High School band students won’t be allowed to perform an instrumental piece of music tied to LGBTQ+ history at their spring concert.
The Watertown school board voted 7-1 to remove “A Mother of A Revolution!” from the May 18 program, saying the piece violated the district’s controversial issues policy.
Students in the Watertown Wind Symphony have been practicing the piece all school year. Board President Laurie Hoffmann voted against removing the music.
The board meeting Tuesday erupted in screaming matches and protests from parents and students. School board members called the piece “indoctrination” and said it could incite political violence.
Board Treasurer Carl Schwarze erupts during a Watertown School Board meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. The board voted to pull a song tied to LGBTQ+ history from the high school orchestra’s spring concert. Photo submitted from Wendy Pliska
Board Vice President Sam Ouweneel said the decision to pull the music six days before the concert reflects the platform board members campaigned on.
“This is a perfect example of what everyone here ran on, which was ending indoctrination and radical curriculum,” Ouweneel said.
Board member Christina DeGrave said political violence should not be celebrated through music or song.
Camila Siebenlist, seventh grader who plays the trombone, asked the school board to reconsider.
“I don’t think you guys understand how hard it is to listen to you guys not accept them, because I know it’s like to not be accepted,” Camila said.
She explained that last year she told her friends she is gender fluid and has been bullied.
“To hear them play a piece by an LGBTQ composer would mean so much,” she said. “Whether they’re trans, gay, whatever, because you’re accepting them, you’re letting the students that need to be accepted to be accepted.”
“A Mother of A Revolution!” was composed in 2019 by Omar Thomas for contemporary wind ensembles and does not have lyrics.
Thomas dedicated the work to transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising against police raids in New York City. The uprising is considered a milestone in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and its site is recognized with a national monument.
Dozens of people attend a special board meeting in Watertown, Wis. on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. The board voted to pull a song tied to LGBTQ+ history from the high school orchestra’s spring concert. Photo submitted from Wendy Pliska
Band Director Reid LaDew followed the district’s “controversial issues policy,” sending a note home to parents in October letting them know the class would be studying and preparing “A Mother of A Revolution!”
At the time, the school board didn’t object.
“The purpose behind studying Mother of a Revolution is not to provoke controversy, but to deepen students’ understanding of how music reflects the diverse experiences of humanity,” LaDew wrote. “Engaging with this piece helps foster empathy, cultural awareness, and respect for the stories and struggles that shape our shared history.”
Several parents spoke in favor of LaDew and how he handled the board’s policy.
“If parents had issues with the piece, they had plenty of time to take it to the board rather than waiting until a couple of weeks before the concert,” said parent Jim Mitchell. “The right to opt out our student from controversial lessons comes with responsibility to monitor communications.”
Mitchell added that learning the piece of music has been in progress for months, stopping it now only hurts the students.
Watertown resident David Mazzie played “A Mother of A Revolution!” while speaking to the board.
“I’m sorry that you get your collective panties in a bunch because you are offended by this,” Mazzie said. “I’m sorry that our idea of what’s fair and what’s right only includes the little bubbles that you live in.”
Watertown school board pulls song tied to LGBTQ+ history from spring concert was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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