When we think of music, we can see artists expressing themselves through their talent and vision of the art. Art is essential to everyday life; we may take it for granted, but what we shouldn’t take for granted are the artists who make the art we consume. Classical Music is an art form we love to express and perform. It is our job to practice and perfect our talent to become successful. As such, we get to play with other people we meet and what we later become the most important people in our lives. But unfortunately, the music industry can be a very dark place for people, especially for women and for the LGBTQ. Unfortunately, in the classical music world, many scandals happen in the country’s professional orchestras and music schools. Many cases aren’t taken seriously by the organization and can lead to many unfortunate events where the survivor may suffer more than what happened at the scene. An important question should be raised: are women safe in classical music?
I must provide some background information to help you understand the question better. I am a musician who performs regularly with different orchestras around Los Angeles. Music is an art everyone should enjoy without worry. Music is an art that can helpbe express frustrations with the world, against government corruption, or to express emotions or ideas. I get to work with many people from different backgrounds. Unfortunately, I have met some not-so-good people as a musician. Such as one particular student in the music department at Cal State LA who graduated in 2024; I’ve heard stories as well as witnessed him harassing and making many women on campus. As we see it locally, many stories came to light in 2024 when a scandal that took years finally came out for the world to see in the New York Philharmonic.
The New York Philarmonic is one of the world’s oldest and most important orchestras. Founded in 1842, it has thrived for a push of new compositions and its push for education through television. It has seen many famous conductors such as Lenord Bernstein and Gustavo Dudamel when he gets to be the new conductor for the orchestra. Despite its significance as well as its popularity it has for the classical music scene, it has recently been exposed by a sexual assault scandal that happened in 2010. It came to light on April 12, 2024, in an article published by Vulture. To provide the details, the article discusses a sexual assault case in which Cara Kizer, at the time a new member of the orchestra in the French Horn section, was unfortunately sexually assaulted by Matthew Muckey, a trumpet player. Cara Kizer was drugged by Liang Wang, an oboe player and best friend of Muckey. The article also dives into detail the abuse of power from both Muckey and Wang, in which they abused their power as leads in the orchestra by manipulating the other members in the orchestra that Cara Kizer’s accusations aren’t accurate and she is a threat to them. To bring it back to the main point, this is an example of a survivor being sexually assaulted by two members of the orchestra, and it goes into detail about the two men getting fired. Still, the Union helps them get their jobs back. It is a common theme in which, unfortunately, many survivors who may come out to report the activity sometimes end off in a worse position, and the perpetrator can get away with the crime.
This is a big example that women can be victims of sexual violence, and unfortunately, many times, it may not get resolved. This article made me want to write this article in the first place. While there is an update to this article by Vulture as of November 5, 2024, in which the two men will be fired by the following season, there was damage left behind by the orchestra, as well as to the survivor who experienced it. An extensive article by The Atlantic published on January 31, 2020, discusses the many incidents in which professors in conservatories would sexually assault students, the majority being female students. The article discusses how the professors abuse their power to manipulate the victims into remaining silent. Unfortunately, it is very common for faculty to take advantage of a student, especially when the student is alone with the professor in a 1-1 private lesson in a music school.
As such, despite primarily female students being affected by the abuse of power from faculty, male students can also be victims of sexual violence as well. It’s a name that for me is difficult to name, but the person is James Levine. According to an articled published by NPR, Levine is well known and has been respected in the classical music scene from the 60s to 70s; he’s known for being the conductor of many American orchestras and the director of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 40 years. However, many allegations began to appear from male students who studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music. These allegations come from 1965 to 1972 when Levine taught at the music school. The fact it took this long for the students to come out and describe their unfortunate interactions with Levine is upsetting to listen as it takes a lot of courage for survivors to come out and have their voices heard. The news article even goes into detail on how he abused his power to take advantage of their students, to even discourage them from reuniting with their families.
As I mentioned with the Atlantic and The New York Philarmonic, this history repeats itself repeatedly. Stories like the NY Phil may be new this year, but many stories remain hidden in either these professional orchestras or in music schools, they stay hidden. I recall meeting two people at the Cal State LA music department campus. One student will try to encourage sex to other female students in the music department and, in a way, insist on doing it. Another student has graduated and left, but unfortunately, this student likes to go after many female students. Even going as far as those near or barely turning legal age. To this day, he pretends he did nothing wrong.
I have experienced an uncomfortable act, not by another student but rather by someone not from Cal State LA. He isn’t a student, but he catcalled me and another friend of mine when we tried to investigate a person who’s been making female students uncomfortable in the basement of the music department. This incident happened on December 3rd, 2024, before I went on to perform with the Cal State LA Jazz Ensemble. Though what I may have experienced wasn’t sexual violence compared to the stories I mentioned above, it made me realize how upsetting the feeling is. I fully understand the many survivors who may experience uncomfortable actions from colleagues, students, or faculty. I will never forget that incident that happened to me, and my other friend was there alongside me.
Like the stories above and the two people (who I won’t mention their names) may cause violence towards female musicians or even male musicians as well, there is a common theme. Many women rarely come out and speak out against the violence they experience, but it takes a lot of courage for one to have their voice heard and for the world to listen to what they have been through. As such, for me as a man, I may not fully understand how a survivor may feel, but there is a solution I can say for at least we can help or stop future harm being caused in the classical music scene.
To begin to discuss the issue, we must promote a culture in which everyone must be treated equally, no matter who they are or what they are. Promoting a culture where everyone is treated as a human being will help build a positive workplace or even a campus of music. But if a survivor speaks out, it should be taken seriously. Protection and comfort should be provided for the survivors as they may be going through a range of emotions, and they should be protected from the perpetrator. Pressure must be applied to the higher-ups of an orchestra or music school faculty to have them investigate the incident and make sure the person who assaulted another person gets called out. There are many other ways to ensure people are safe in a situation of an assault to happen.
I mentioned earlier that I am a man and may not fully understand, but I know what we guys should do to promote a positive environment. We must treat everybody around us with humility and respect as if they are our own. People not disrespect or treat people below us, no matter who they are. We must also call out other guys who are doing malicious activities or encouraging lousy behavior in different peers. We must call men out if they have a bad intention of wanting to harm either a female colleague or even a male colleague. Just as the two people who actively make women uncomfortable or in the stories who go as far as wanting to take advantage of a woman like the article from The Atlantic highlighted or the scandal in the New York Phil, we must prevent other men from committing harm.
What I mentioned above to ensure better protection can also be applied to all places of the environment. No matter the setting, we should use everything I discussed everywhere. I chose to write this article not only to highlight the scandal of the NY Phil but also to show that women can be victims of sexual violence, even in classical music. I hope you can understand that we can bring a better future for everyone to make sure no further violence is happening in places in which it shouldn’t happen in the first place. It may be a challenging task, but it can be achieved with everyone coming together to ensure everyone is protected from violence.
References
Fetters , A., Chan, C. J., & Wu, N. (2020, January 31). Classical music has a “god status” problem. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/01/conservatories-sexual-harassment-abuse/604351/
Frank, J. P. (2024, November 5). New York Philharmonic dismisses players accused of sexual misconduct. Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/article/new-york-philharmonic-sexual-misconduct-firings.html
Sussman, S. (2024, November 5). A hidden sexual-assault scandal at the New York Philharmonic. Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/article/new-york-philharmonic-sexual-assault-scandal.html
Tsioulcas, A. (2018, May 19). James Levine accused of sexual misconduct by 5 more men. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/05/19/612621436/james-levine-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-by-5-more-men