Juilliard fires composer for sexual misconduct
NewsThen Juilliard School in New York has responded to the results of an independent legal investigation by dismissing Robert Beaser, chair of its composition department for 24 years.
The investigation found ‘credible evidence that Mr. Beaser engaged in conduct which interfered with individuals’ academic work and was inconsistent with Juilliard’s commitment to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for its students.’
The case against Beaser had been brought to light last December in a VAN magazine report on predatory sexual activities at Juilliard, which the professor denied. Beaser, 69, was suspended from teaching after the report appeared. He had stood down as head of department in 2018.
Further accusations against a more prominent composer. Christopher Rouse, could not be pursued following Rouse’s death in 2019.
Juilliard vowed to improve student protection but its conduct over years of reported allegations has not been consistent. The school now says it will ban all romantic or sexual relationships between faculty and students from the new academic year.
There was also this case recently:
https://slippedisc.com/2022/12/juilliard-is-sued-for-defamation-by-fired-church-music-director/
Juilliard’s budget for sexual harassment cases (and most likely settlements) must be disturbingly high. And it seems typical of similar ‘great institutions’ (e.g. Met Opera). What can realistically be done for them to better serve their mission? The power dynamic in an academic, master/pupil setting is too ripe for sexual deviants. Especially since many virtuoso musicians have the emotional maturity of teenagers.
But all last year I was told that “Tar” was an inaccurate representation of the classical music world…
The dilemma the classical music world faces is that its leaders and followers insist that maintaining traditions are essential to its identity, but those traditions create power dynamics that result in the reoccurring stories posted on this website about bullying and sexual harassment in classical music institutions. Something needs to change, but nobody wants anything to change.
Nobody is maintaining the traditions in opera or classical music. It is all this nonsense. People are so concerned with what is in their pants and what might be done with it, and who uses which pronoun and who looked at them funny that nobody is actually singing or playing that well anymore. People are being hired to tell everyone how horrible they are as a race, how colonialist, how this and how that. Its a billion dollar racket. There is nothing wrong with their race or orientation or normalcy, but if you put the emphasis on everything but artistry, they will be well adjusted human beings, if entitled. They won’t play well or be any good, but hey, they will be emotionally secure, if obscure professionally. I have a great idea.
Stop worrying about who doesn’t love you, stop trying to screw for career breaks, and fucking go practice instead. Nobody remembers how. Stop with trying to be a moral bastion, and if you screw up by having something with someone you shouldn’t, make it right and stop doing that. The music business will never be politically correct, and thank heaven. Being prodigious is always going to create angst for those who aren’t.
There is always going to be a power differential between musicians. You don’t get a can of raid and get rid of it. In this brand new (horrible) world of classical music a conductor can’t even train an orchestra and everyone sucks. There. When your ego is too fragile to get instruction, you will stay sucky.
Listen to the artists of several years ago. You cannot touch a hair on their heads because they just don’t play as well. If I hear one more numpty tell me that it cannot be done, or people just aren’t able to do that anymore, I want to say “please QUIT this industry.” If you aren’t good enough to get that performance, then get out. Stop barring the way for those who [are] good enough to do it. You are taking up space and furthering the decline of the arts.
If everyone sucks, ticket sales plummet. When that happens there is no more profession for any of us, and the world loses something it desperately needs. Opera is being sold off piecemeal by people aren’t up to the job of running a theater, people who keep putting one horrific show on stage after another, because they cannot identify anyone who might really be an opera star and this philosophy that the people didn’t see enough ugly with Covid and ruin. They have to be slapped with ugly shows and constant berating by people who have no place berating anyone. They really have no high ground to stand on.
Go bitch at rappers. You want misogyny? Go on, get. There is plenty of it to be found in pop music. Get out of classical music and stop burning it to the ground just because people forgot how to learn to play well and sing like the house is on fire.
This is why independent journalism is so important. They tell the stories the powerful people try to keep quiet.
Bingo. You are putting your finger on the most crucial point. The classical music industry has been getting a pass from the mainstream media because of its niche nature, while specialized classical music journalism (with a few exception such as the VAN magazine cited or this website) is for the most part subservient to powerful industry players and not independent.
Hostile workplaces, sexual harassment, homophobia and misogyny. Teachers sexually preying on students. Teachers abusing students emotionally and otherwise. Powerful music directors who are married engaged in sexual relationships with mistresses at the office (mistresses staffed and paid by their institutions) with HR departments, boards complacent (not) overseeing and tacitly endorsing an outrageous conduct that would be unacceptable in any corporation. World renowned music directors routinely making homophobic, trans phobic, racist or otherwise objectively offensive comments while at the workplace and outside. World famous singers allegedly involved with sex traffickers but still singing in major opera venues. We could go on and on.
The mainstream media is ignoring this disconcerting state of affairs because classical music is, for the most part, not on the radar of our broad societies. The specialized classical music media, on the other hand, is mired in conflicts of interest and often fighting for its own survival, therefore deferential and servile, fully aware that picking a fight with powerful industry players is a sure path to be marginalized or pushed out of a job.
These are all symptoms of a decadent culture with runaway personal entitlement – in a moral vacuum. As the US is in a dangerous state of economic and cultural entropy we can expect more moral decline.
Amazing that no Chicago mobsters were named in this comment. Turning a new leaf are we?
Just old story of power, that’s Gyges ring, with power comes tentation to abuse this power… nothing to do with sex or race…
Statistically, faculty-student sex is 1% true love and 100% older male faculty with a younger fe/male student(s).
The softer the academic discipline (humanities, arts), the more occurrences of abusive faculty-student sex.
The hard sciences seems to be the exception (example, Pierre and Marie Curie, where the student Marie outshone the professor husband winning 2 Nobels to his 1).
But that’s because in the hard sciences, there are objective measures of accomplishment, in the arts, it”s all about access and connections, which the older professor controls and exchanges for sex.
This is among the dumbest and most unknowing comments ever made on SD. You have absolutely zero idea of what you are speaking about.
Or perhaps they hit a nerve?
“Female Scientists Report a Horrifying Culture of Sexual Assault”
https://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/a14104684/sexual-harassment-assault-in-science-field/
Good!
This is all just so utterly disgusting. Wouldn’t be so bad if I couldn’t say I was wasn’t also inappropriately taken advantage of in my youth by a much older individual and yes it was in classical music. I have managed to bury it for four decades now in order to move forward. I only hope the pervert got their come-uppance for all their many ills, as this individual seemingly has, or that they have since left the planet.
Those who can, do.
Those who can’t… get it from the students.
Did Julliard only recently find out about this after 24 years or, after 24 years, did it finally become impossible to dismiss the complaints?
I am nearly 60 years old. I had a teacher when I was 23 who told me at my first lesson: “you shot your wad too soon” referring to the piece I was composing. At the second lesson he said: “if I can’t f#%k it or eat it, I don’t want it”. I never took another lesson with him. It’s only now after #metoo that I realized how inappropriate he was. Sadly, he is still teaching there. At the time I knew something was wrong, but as a 23 year old I didn’t know what to do. I still really hate him.
OMG you were an adult. I am going to guess you never made a career in the industry. There are many ways to teach. For your edification, what your instructor was saying, is that you reached the climax of your composition before building up to it in a manner that would give satisfaction at the summit. Like telling the punchline at the front of the joke instead of after the set-up. He was also making the point that your composition has to be something that one needs. Like sex or food or air. The delivery was somewhat crude, but we aren’t always polite when trying to get a fundamental idea across, and the artistic process is absolutely not for the precious ones wanting safe spaces. Nothing good will likely happen in such environment. Art is dangerous.
We sometimes use extreme language when we teach because students are performing/composing/singing with so little energy or life force that its hard to impart to them what is required. Performance requires a TON of life force to get it out of the person and into a room of thousands of people. We often use ideas that express huge emotions and feels to get a very BORING performance out of an artist.
I’m very happy! Talented, but, let say not political correct or “romantic” teachers and composers wil left decayed US and will go to Europe, especially Austria and eastern countries where there are no problem of any connections, if they dont interfere with studies and where students are not so slimy and pretentious like those in the West. So, we will have best composers and teachers and west will have only politically correct ones and eunuchs, but not talented.
Back when he was suspended and I commented here that we ALL knew he was doing this in the late 90s, Norman told me I was being defamatory. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!
I mean, it was almost impossible NOT to know he was hooking up with his student who he eventually married, but also that he was inappropriate in general. Bye bye Beaser!