Several of the six musicians had been involved with Canadian-Russian friendship organizations formed in the 1940s for the purposes of artistic collaboration; however, they denied charges of political involvement. Staryk related that he had played at Ukrainian and other ethnic events, and Budd admitted to being a member of a left-wing youth group. John Moskalyk's surname was listed in the TSO's programs as "Moscow"; he had conducted the Budapest orchestra for two concert performances in August 1949. Keetbaas could not recall any association with left-wing groups. Harry Freedman, who was on the board of the Toronto Musicians' Association at the time and whose vote thwarted unanimous decisions against the Symphony Six, stated that he was not aware of any of the six musicians promoting communism. Later, he felt that he should have taken "more direct action".