Exclusive: A case of revenge porn
NewsWe understand that the Houston Symphony has suspended its principal horn, Bill VerMeulen, for the rest of the season.
Houston is about to host the League of American Orchestras conference and it does not want demonstrators on its doorstep.
The horn player has been accused online of disseminating an intimate self-portrait.
Slippedisc understands, from sources close to the matter, that the pictures are seven years old. They were sent unwisely to a woman with whom the musician was having a sexual relationship. The woman was neither an orchestra colleague nor a student of his.
Once the relationship was over, the ex-lover sent the pictures to a professional rival of the horn player’s who, in turn, passed it on to a feminist agitator. She posted it on her social media as a supplement to other recent musical instances of male misbehaviour.
What is at issue here, therefore, is not a man sending inappropriate messages to an unwilling female recipient. It is, plain and simple, a matter of revenge porn, instigated by a jilted lover seven years after the event.
We understand that the horn player has the support and understanding of his wife and family. He will survive.
But revenge porn is, in many states, a criminal offence.
Readers should take great care not to share it.
A situation made worse by the unethical distribution of said photos on a website hosted by a member of the Baltimore Symphony.
Wouldn’t it be simpler if principal french horn players kept their genitals zipped up? I mean, SO much trouble could have been avoided.
yes, of course
Mr lebrecht, your spin on this story as “revenge porn” is not correct. I have seen other comments referring to 1996-97 and VerMeulen was indeed involved in sex with a student. This is a fact and it can be verified through multiple sources. Vermeulen has a long history of sexual misbehaviour at Rice.
It is a matter of record and easily verifiable that Houston Symphony hornists Roger Kaza and Bruce Henniss taught at Rice while Vermeulen was “away” around 1996-97.
Wasn’t this woman a student (of another instrument) at the time these images were taken? This seems like a crucial piece of information that has been omitted. Additionally, it’s important to consider the man’s history and reputation for poor conduct around students.
The term “female agitator” used in the article suggests a biased perspective. We should be careful to avoid dismissing either the professor or the feminist without a thorough examination of all facts and perspectives.
So why are you defending him him? Why haven’t you acknowledged his previous suspensions by Rice? So if his wife sanctions his behavior it’s ok? Wow!
When will that BSO musician finally face the music?
For what? Exposing the truth, as it were?
Yes, the principal oboe in Baltimor Symphony owes Bill Ver Meulen a deep apology! Only a shallow and deranged person would do something like what she did.
Why are people tiptoeing around Katherine Needleman’s name as if “she-who-must-not-be-named”?
Katherine’s Facebook is a cesspool of accusations and public humiliations. The undercurrent of rage and revenge-wishing is enough to cause cancer in the reader.
I would like to see VerMeulen sue, and win.
To hell with these bitter harridans.
How about an apology to all the people that wanted to learn horn and instead had a predator as a teacher who was more interested in getting in their pants than actually teaching them horn? Or are you just that stupid.
Agree the player is not at fault here; you have right to control your image. But who ever thought it was a good idea to send such photos to anyone – by mail, over the internet, etc.?
a bad idea, it was…
The minute you send such a photograph to someone, you no longer have control of the image. If he didn’t want those images shared, he shouldn’t have sent them in the first place.
how can they prove it’s his richard pic?
By his face also being in the photo.
For what it’s worth, on the FB page of the “feminist agitator” who posted the photos, there was considerable discussion of alleged misbehavior that extended well beyond the photos, including a report of an alleged suspension at Rice during the 1996-1997 season. I don’t know if these stories are true, but they give the impression that the issue *might* not be so simple as revenge porn.
You are absolutely correct regarding 1996-97. I was there. It is a fact, Rice horn students were taught by Houston Symphony members Roger Kaza and Bruce Henniss while Vermeulen was “away”. Carrie Potts was the female student involved.
Are there any eminent musicians left who are not pornographers, gropers, pederasts, rapsits or assailants?
Yes, there are! These people ARE replaceable!
It may be safe to say there are some who are not. Weeding out the depraved ones seems to be a very slow process, taking many years and much diligence and courage from the few who attempt to help us achieve it.
Herbert Blomstedt?
It’s not possible for a student to engage in a relationship with a professor as an equal, even if they are over the age of 18.
The power dynamics are tilted in favor of the professor, and it’s abusive of the mission of education.
That’s one of the things that makes this so grotesque. The other thing that makes it grotesque is covered by a fairly small censorship rectangle in the photos which are going around.
It’s not about a “jilted lover” seeking revenge. It’s about a complete fool continually getting away with awful behavior.
He sent pics to a student. That’s way, WAY past “unwise.”
And honestly, Norman – if it’s feminist agitation to call this nonsense out, so be it.
She was not his student…still ill advised, but is a distinction. She was Very proud of their affair when it was happening and very angry when it ended. I was there at the time
She may not have been his student, but he’s been involved with several of his students for sure, which led to his 96-97 suspension. I saw firsthand the damage caused to a female friend of mine who came back home after the year, defeated and devastated. I wish I’d had the power to do something as a 20-something kid, but I did not. Hope the guy rots.
She was not his student. (According to the post). As such, they were just a man and a woman, though her subsequent behaviour, based on the post, makes her seem very immature, among other things.
When I was a graduate student in English, I dated a young professor of physics. We did not meet through either students of his who were friends of mine (I knew none of his students) nor through professors of mine who were friends of his. It was simply a short relationship between people only a few years different in age. He did not teach in my college, and I took no science classes. There was no power imbalance in the thing.
Who are your “sources”? How can anyone know that what you are claiming as “fact” is actually true? And “feminist agitator?” Really? You give the game away right there.
Way to bury the lead with this disgustingly dismissive trash fire of an article. You left out the part about his TWO prior suspensions for sexual misconduct, the settlement paid out by Rice University to a victim, and decades of documented abuse. Shame on you!
The victim was Carrie Potts, she was paid off and the incident is a matter of federal record. 1996-97 saw Rice horn students taught by Houston Symphony hornists Roger Kaza and Bruce Henniss while Vermeulen was “away”.I am absolutely certain of facts. I was there
If the first suspension was 1996-1997 when was the second suspension? Did the HSO also suspend him previously for his behavior with his students? Surely management heard what was going on over at Rice.
But none of that has anything to do with a pic between two consenting adults completely outside the workplace.
Whether I’m a fan of Bill Vermeulen is besides the point. Whether one approves of his decisions and methods is also besides the point. I sincerely hope that this explanation is true, which leaves us with questions more of his judgement of passing on such stuff, even privately. But to be tried in the lynch mob of said agitator’s FB has become a toxic platform of fantasy speculations on her part. She does have first hand evidence of how she was treated by men in power, and has the right to expound on those, but everything else she posts, and is demanding dismissals and firings and neutering of many careers, is not in any way based on her own research, beyond that vast unverifiable quantity known as the internet. She lumps in basically anyone who’s a male and doesn’t fit her idea, past or present, on what ratio of the sexes is equitable (nothing wrong with working on that, of course) into the cauldron of cancellation and termination. The whole of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University is apparently a den of predators, based on an incident from more than 25 years ago, which undoubtedly would be handled differently today, and a one other case of completely unverified speculation. Last I checked, she taught at Curtis. They’ve had their own issues to deal with regarding abusive behavior. Is she a part of THAT culture?? It’s very fashionable to think we all “know” the facts in this volatile situations based on things we read, and social media’s influence sucks in so many of us into emotional reactions to perceived injustices. It’s also a means of revenge for many with grudges to bear. We must be able to judge the nuances of situations, and discern the difference between genuinely heinous and harmful behavior and drive by character assassination. I don’t know the truth regarding this situation, and neither do any of us, least of all this FB agitator. Do we need a culture shift from various kind of previously accepted behavior by those in power on music school faculties and other positions of influence? In many cases, yes we do. I think it’s happening. It can’t happen soon enough. Regarding the FB agitator, IF she were willing to actually engage in a civil dialog calling into question certain assumptions and rumors turned into “fact”, and not add those engaging that into her vast cauldron of extinction, we might be going forward to work on how to improve things. I fear that is emphatically not the case at the moment.
Here’s the TL|DR for Trevor’s wall-o’text comment:
“Won’t someone think of the poor men in powerful positions? It’s unfair to throw their [misogynist comments] [gun photos] [racist bile] [drunken groping] out there for the public to comment on.
Men deserve the benefit of the doubt, remember.
After all, none of us were there…therefore, we must not arrive at ANY conclusions.”
Lol
I don’t think that was his point at all. He’s calling for a little more nuance, a little less knee-jerk public shaming based on insufficient information.
The FB agitator is not a journalist nor a lawyer and is certainly not equipped with the ability weigh all sides of complex matters to get at the truth. As a result, people are unfairly thrown into the toxic stew that she whips up on a daily basis.
“Flintlock”? Is that you, Harold E?
Oh, come on, Susan. Harold writes under his own name. Anyone following this situation knows that. Just because someone else agrees with him doesn’t mean it IS him.
Why do people always make these ridiculous assumptions in Norman’s threads? Slipped Disc has an enormous, world-wide audience & the chances that you know identity of the person commenting are like a snowball’s chance in hell.
Personally, I’ve had to change my username a couple of times because simple-minded fools like yourself were convinced I was a key player in some scandal or another writing under an alias. It’s crazy.
Contrary to what you might believe, plenty of people who are NOT on KN’s FB page/echo chamber do not approve of her. No, they are not all men. And no, they are not all named Harold. LOL.
Katherine Needleman treads a very fine line between “exposing abuse of power” and, well, actually, just abusing power herself. She will fly too close to the sun, and this will blow up in her face. The same woman who spearheaded the task force in Baltimore to have her colleague fired for spreading “covid conspiracy theories” back in 2021, which as we all know now, were not conspiracies at all. She enjoys destroying careers, and I believe one day the chickens will come home to roost for her.
Wow, “Guest”…this “will blow up in her face”…? Really?
Nice little menacing tone you’ve got there. Reminds me of that gun enthusiast that brandishes his clarinet.
It couldn’t possibly be true that these men were responsible for destroying their own careers?
Their words. Their groping. Their p*nis photos.
Yeah, I’m going to stand by the feminist agitators on this matter, so sorry.
KN often comes after people who don’t deserve her abuse. There are certain specialties in music where women already have our own checks and balances in place. We are on this bigtime in our own communities. She’s just not aware of it. We don’t need or want her help.
Based on ridiculous criteria like FB photos, she & her gang come charging in like bulls in a China shop trying to take down our competitions, events & master classes which she knows absolutely nothing about. We are women. Our area is dominated by women. These events are often organized by women, which she is clueless about.
We know the sexual predators in our specialty area & we take them down. When our competitions or events don’t have enough female representation, we make them fix it. We’ve been fighting this fight a lot longer than she has & we look after our own. She is oblivious to this & she needs to stay in her own lane. Her actions are ignorant & often destructive to what other women are doing. She recently came after the beloved wife of a legendary soloist who is one of the most pro-women artists out there simply because of a FB photo. True to form, KN’s idiotic followers mocked this dear woman & her efforts at inclusivity. How dare they. Stay in your own lane, KN.
Dominic de Guzmán has entered the chat.
Amy, you give yourself away here and on Facebook with your excessive, repeated, combative defenses of Katherine Needleman’s defenseless behavior. You are just one of many sycophants in her orbit. These recent posts by Needleman are beyond the pale, and she has completely derailed what was once her important work. She is a narcissist, feeding on the support of minions like you. I will look forward to watching her and others squirm as they are eventually sued for their libelous behaviors. Careful what you post and share. Maybe you can even share an attorney.
Of course you are.
Katherine Needleman is a brilliant artist who has been severely mistreated by this industry and is making it safer by exposing predators.
Bill has a history of using his position as a teacher [redacted]
These are not the same thing.
A brilliant artist who has been severely mistreated by the industry? More like a mediocre musician who benefited from her male teacher’s tireless championship of her to get her a job she couldn’t win fair and square!
Really curious what you describe as “safer”? Don’t get me wrong — I find this situation of Bill VerMeulen despicable, and I don’t think he deserves a teaching position at all. Sleeping with students is bad. Full stop.
But yeah keep lying to yourself that she’s making the industry “safer”. And lets not forget how theoretically easy it is to lie to her and have her immediately post it to her platform.
No, she has crossed that line several times. She is helping no one with her social media crusades. In many cases she is flirting with criminality…esp in this case
As someone unaware of the situation does “covid conspiracy theories” refer to antivax ideas or lab leak theories?
The principal flute was a complete nutcase spreading right wing nonsense, Trumptard bull, and a history of anti semitic remarks, already in Pittsburgh ,long before she came to Baltimore.
In that vein, I think that the following article deserves to be revisited:
https://slippedisc.com/2021/08/exclusive-emily-skala-hits-back/
The comments excoriating Ms. Skala have not aged well.
https://slippedisc.com/2021/08/exclusive-emily-skala-hits-back/
The comments excoriating Ms. Skala have not aged well.
They have aged very will….Absolute nutcase.
The penultimate sentence in your post above begs the following question:
Knowing what we now know, are any apologies to Emily Skala forthcoming, for having ruined her career?
If you compare vaccination with the Holocaust, you don´t deserve any apologies. She ruined her career all herself. And she got several warnings before
Well, she was absolutely correct about her anti-vaxxer Baltimore colleague (and nice of you to come on here and spread Covid misinformation). That said, I do agree that she wields a chainsaw when scalpels are needed.
I agree. It’s a tragic misuse of energy. Imagine if all that energy was put into becoming an oboist…
Thanks for the opportunity to revisit Mme. Needleman’s history on shining truth when her colleague, Emily Skala, was in fact fired for being a Covid denier in 2021. That of course was back in the time before one side of the American political aisle was populated by the folks who
in fact actively disseminate conspiracy theories about all sorts of things.
Kudos and brava to Katherine for doing what she did then and for continuing today. And an especial thanks to the researchers and politicians who believed in basic elements of science and got Covid vaccines online in an extraordinarily short period of time, saving countless lives.
Guest
Bill VerMeulen was sending sick dick pics to a person he was cheating on his marriage with.
Via email.
In the 21st century.
How well do you think that was going to go for him…long term?
Here’s a thought:if you want to have a career based upon a fine and nuanced understanding of aesthetics, it’s probably better to NOT send dick pics via email.
“The rest of the season…”
What is that by the end of May? A week? Two?
While it was foolish for BVM to put himself in a precarious situation (one of many apparently), Miss Needleman, the Queen of Filth also finds herself in potential hot water. The fines in MD, PA, and TX are hefty for disseminating intimate/explicit images. We can only hope that her smug arrogance and overall mental illness will finally catch up to her with this stunt.
Bring on the Queen of Felony Charges.
Moral panic. In Sweden at least the spreading these pictures by his “ex” and her friend would be classified as defamation. Americans are “lawsuit crazy” to an even greater extent. Perhaps Mr. VerMeulen should seek damage compensation.
Possibly. But boy would he not want to go to court: the discovery process could ruin him for good and wreck whatever marriage hopes he still has.
Name the rival colleague … many of us know who it is. This is the worst kind of professional assassination. No one questions the historically, Horrible judgement represented by creating and sending such pictures…but the criminal distribution of them is a symptom of internet/social media crusading that has to stop.
From my own limited knowledge of the situation, these photos have actually been around the brass community for years. The seven years you mention in the article seems right about when they were released. I know about BV’s ex-lover and that it was revenge porn, but she almost certainly didn’t just recently send them to the professional rival as you imply. Whoever sent them to the FB agitator could have been anyone in the brass community if they had a grudge against BV. Just my two cents.
Norman, you need to do better. Although, it is possible that one of the photos were “revenge porn,” at least one other was taken from a Zoom meeting.
Amazing that your ‘source’ happened to know exactly how long ago the pics had been sent, that he has his wife’s support, and the characterization of sending the pics was simply “unwise”… yet you fail to mention that he has had a pattern of inappropriate behavior for decades.
You’ve essentially admitted that your source is Bill VerMeulen himself.
FYI, according to those who have been close to this situation for the last seven years, much of what is written in the article checks out.
While I personally think Vermeulen should have been taken down long ago, I find what Needleman did to be completely wrong, possibly illegal, and toxic to the cause of equality in the music industry. This man’s pattern of behavior is absolutely a conversation we need to have, but it does not excuse what she did.
These photos were not examples of harrassment or predatory behavior, and lead back to one person. In this instance, the subject of the affair is well known to have aggressively and successfully pursued relationships with men in power, including Vermeulen. Was this yet another lapse in his moral and professional judgement? Yes. Illegal or predatory? Not this time.
I hate to take his side in this. But unfortunately, Needleman’s photos and the uproar caused have been without context or nuance. She is not justified in recklessly and hatefully spreading misinformation, no matter who the target is. Those who pile on without bothering to think twice or considering context also damage the credibility of those who want progress.
One might argue that the pace of change is so slow that the ends always justify the means… but I disagree with the idea that when they go low, we should also go low. Please people, we have to be better than this.
Needleman strikes again!
“Sources close to the matter.” So in other words, you corresponded with Bill V and took his word for it, right?
“Feminist agitator” That one make me snort-chuckle. Katherine Needleman, right?
“We understand that the horn player has the support and understanding of his wife and family. He will survive.” Oh man this is just rich.
Good ole Stormin’ Norman. About as subtle as a brick.
Bruce Hembd: Your supposition is wrong. I have never in my life had contact with Mr VerMeulen.
VerMeulen has been a notorious dirtbag/moron for as long as I’ve been aware of him. I’m both a Texas and Houston native as well as a one-time Shepherd School aspirant. Thankfully, I never got sucked into his orbit of bullshit, or I never would have been as successful as I became. Horses’ asses like VerMeulen should have been kicked to the curb long ago. He’s been notorious for his hanky-panky shenanigans for years, and his tone has all the charm of a fuel-starved, two-stroke motor to boot.
I am confused why anyone is defending someone or casting doubt over this particular case as if he hasn’t done anything wrong. I don’t know of many teachers with so many accusations that it is known in his field for female students to stay away. I even have two friends who have experienced inappropriate verbal and physical interactions with him in consultation lessons. He has been suspended from his position, and then he still gets the benefit of the doubt when he shares compromising photos of his privates….his reputation doesn’t paint a picture of someone who anything other than more attention and investigation. The truth will always come out when people have a platform to speak….we shouldn’t try to shut people up, especially when a lot of information points in the same direction.
These are some extracts of a former student’s reflections (posted on the “feminist agitator’s” FB):
“Early on in my time at this school, I found out that he had an affair with a student. The BFM told me himself, and laughed to me that he had played a lot of great guest-principal-instrument, during that time off. The School knew what had happened, and the punishment for it was essentially a sabbatical. Message received: this school doesn’t have our best interest in mind. We are not safe here.”
Or how about this?:
“So it’s not a far reach that in addition to cruel methods of contriving improvement on the instrument, that the lessons were also overtly sexual…..The peak of a phrase was an orgasm. The liquidity of my slurs was vaginal lubrication—and there needed to be a lot, for it to be good.
All of our lessons were open for observation. Once, a local instrumentalist sat in on one of my lessons and had to catch me after and ask if I was ok…because the nature of the instruction was so sexually explicit. He couldn’t believe it. ”
Or how about this:
“His mandatory studio parties featured themes and costumes (participation required), under-aged blackout drunkenness, alcohol poisoning, and a hot tub.”
Sounds like a great guy who we should support, right? (Please note the sarcasm….)
You might have a point if this was a one off but Bill Ver Meulen has a long history of misconduct and frankly he has made his own bed. A while back he was caught having an affair with one of his students at the Shepherd School. Amazingly he kept his job which was outrageous. IMO, it’s about time he was held accountable for his abuse.
As a Rice alum and seven year member of the community, Mr. VerMeulen’s deeds were an open secret, from inappropriate behavior at lessons to studio parties that no one felt comfortable avoiding and involved hot tubs and underage drinking. That’s without even getting into the relationship he had with a student. You don’t have to believe me, as this is an anonymous comment, but I’m pretty confident some truths will come out. Any lack of discretion Ms. Needleman shows with her public post is so much less important than the awareness of the terrible things BVM has done, and it makes me suspicious when I see comments focusing on the former rather than the latter.
Truth and transparency will win out, I hope. And to be clear — this is very disappointing to me. BVM is clearly the greatest horn teacher in the world, and I have been good friends with many of his students.
“An intimate self-portrait”- love it!
Everybody should spend more time practicing to become better musicians and, maybe, better people.
My sister once said that learning (i.e., practicing) the Beethoven Sonatas made her a better person. (And, she did this, over a 20 year period, working to perfect her playing and understanding of Beethoven.)
In another ridiculous move, KN decided to go after the Montreal Symphony yesterday. Montreal posted a FB announcement for an educational series which didn’t feature women in the thumbnails. If you open the link, you see the women instructors, but the FB algorithm didn’t show them in the thumbnail announcement. This is a problem with FB, not Montreal, as a no. of women from the orch tried to explain.
KN & her followers weren’t having it. They love their FB photos, which to them are always solid proof that men have erred.
Female members of Montreal came forward in the thread explaining that representation of women is not an issue in the orch. “We do not have a problem here.” they insisted. Women are well represented in the orch., they continued. There is a female CEO, the ad in question was designed by women & a new female principal horn has just been appointed. KN’s idiotic followers then tried to tell these women that they must have a problem because Dutoit was once their MD. “But Dutoit left 20 years ago!” said the woman member of Montreal. “We really don’t have a problem!”
It gets better. KN, who is completely ignorant of non US cultures and languages, then took issue with the fact that Montreal’s ad was partly in French. She also expressed her consternation that people defending the orch on her page were doing so in French, which she said she doesn’t understand very well.
FFS, KN, Montreal is in Quebec. French is their official language. You attacked their orch. Why shouldn’t they respond in their own language? Seriously, you’re a pro oboist & you don’t understand French? If you’re really that uneducated, just hit the translate button on the post or paste it into google translate. SMH.
Like some bizarre feminist conspiracy theorist, KN assumes that anything which is not specifically US culturally or linguistically is a plot against all women.
I completely agree with the commenter here who said that the chickens will come to roost with KN’s career. She’s gone way beyond just offending men. She’s harming other women, our careers & our orchestras. She’s making a public ass of herself & doing untold harm to the rep of US classical musicians abroad.
KN doesn’t allow criticism of any kind on her FB page. Her followers will shut you down. But in orchestras, conservatories, music studios you’ll hear the backlash. Experienced musicians, both men & women, shake their heads sadly at the mention of her name, or even at the mention of Baltimore. Here’s hoping she keeps her present job, because there isn’t an orch in the world where she’d be accepted. It’s only a matter of time until Curtis will get tired of fielding complaints & cut her loose.
Don’t get me wrong – there is good to what she does, but she’s gone too far. She’s relying on support from the echo chamber of her followers, the loudest of whom are not usually pro musicians. Many are musical outsiders who’ve never worked a day in music. Those who actually are musicians should think twice about being associated with KN & what she’s doing. My take, anyway . . .
Some self-appointed social media social justice warriors need to learn, or soon will be made to learn, about tort liability for tortious interference with contract, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, public disclosure of private facts, and libel. Just because people pat you on the back on the Internet, and no matter how well-intentioned you believe yourself to be, you don’t have the right to destroy people’s careers and lives.
Norman, I question your understanding of the current landscape if you think this was about two pictures, which were not in fact revenge porn…they were the tip of the abusive behavior he has exhibited as a teacher for over a considerable period of time. He did not resign from Rice because of Katherine Needleman, but because way too late after the fact, he is finally reaping the consequences of his deeds and words.
VerMeulen “retired” from Rice yesterday. Plenty of people with stories about this man. So much for your revenge porn theory. Nice try!
“He will survive.” What about his victims.
Actually, yes, the stories are all true. I was a Shepherd grad student in 96-97 and everyone (across the music school) knew vermeulen had affairs with students, and yes, he was suspended for having sexual relations with a student. “Consensual” doesn’t matter and doesn’t really exist in these scenarios – the power differential between Professor/Student will always affect the Consent part of it.
I had an affair with a professor when I was an undergrad. I was in love with him and never turned him in (then or later), even though I eventually learned he was a serial womanizer and cheater (including with other students – how silly I was to think I was the first!).
I now teach in Academia and am appalled to see and know how pervasive and rampant this is – at my alma mater; at the university where I currently teach; by colleagues I’ve known and worked with in academia; and by people I know and have worked with in the professional performing music world.
Revenge porn? I think not. Know your subject and all the facts surrounding it before you write your own revenge porn, Norman. Why are you always part of the problem and never the solution?
Revenge porn? That’s why the Shepherd School Dean announced Bill’s retirement (effective immediately), removed Bill’s faculty bio from the website (as has Eastman), provided contact information for Rice’s Title IX and Equity office, and promised that they would continue to investigate all complaints – current and from years past. Do you really think Shepherd could essentially fire Bill if it was all hearsay?
Come on – use your brain and apply some logic here; resist writing with your over-inflated, easily-wounded ego (actually, the “id” part of your brain).
Kudos to those speaking truth here and everywhere. Wish I’d been smarter as an undergrad and braver as a grad student.
You weren’t an adult back then?
And if those were old events from the 90s, and he paid for them, then it’s double jeopardy to be punishing him again for it.
Leigh: you are unfortunately incorrect. Women are human beings with agency who can absolutely consent or not to a relationship. Unpleasant choices and unpleasant consequences (imagined or real) choices does remove one’s agency. Let’s empower all women to make good choices and accept responsibility for them, just like what is asked of men, or really anyone.
Bravo Needleman! You’re doing the Lord’s work!
Everyone take note that @Norman Lebrecht and Slipped Disc have postured in defense of a documented predator. Stay safe.
Update: Mr. VerMeulen has resign from RICE.
And why is this any issue for his employer? The whole thing is outrageous for many reasons. Like how is having a pic like this even culpable for him to begin with?
In today’s KN news: she & her gang of minions are now going after the Houston Symphony.They’ve compiled photos of the white men in the orch & are having a field day. As usual, a FB photo – any FB photo, no matter how it’s been doctored – is their unequivocal proof.
A Black man – a member of a minority group they claim to be defending – came forward politely in the thread to say that he had been treated very well there. He requested a chance to speak with KN, because he wanted her to know this. He was shut down immediately by KN’s top henchwoman, who dismissed him because he was a Black MAN. He doesn’t count because he is a man, she explained derisively. KN’s gang is not representing minorities or all women, they are a cult who represent only themselves. Could they possibly be more hypocritical?
There are outstanding women in leadership positions in Houston Symph. – one Principal player in particular – who are successful, active role models for
other women. The Houston Principal player I mention leads an all-woman section, one of whom is Black.
When these women were pointed out in KN’s thread, instead of acknowledging their success, their importance was dismissed.
One KN commenter, a “Jennifer Thompson” of Joliet, IL, quipped ” Of course there are women violinists and flutists. . . That’s kind of like saying well you don’t need to have female pilots because you have female flight attendants.”
Gee, thanks, Jennifer. Great to hear that violinists and flutists are not real musicians & that what these women have accomplished doesn’t count. You think that these women are the “flight attendants” of orchestras. Apparently you feel that women who succeed in these disciplines will always be secondary to men. This is perfect example of KN & her cult harming the success & accomplishments of other women.
What a shame that honest discourse & opinions cannot be expressed on KN’s FB page for fear of attack & ridicule by her followers – that we have to come to the comments section of our friend Norman to express our disagreements with her. He is most kind to allow us a place to air our concerns. Thank you, Norman.
Yet this female agitator doesn’t have any female student in her oboe class at Curtis. How would she and her mob explain that?
How do you get off calling this “revenge porn”? You’re clearly not a lawyer. HE WAS ON SKYPE! He willingly exposed himself. Your bias is disgusting and an affront to all the students he abused.
Poor guy – sounds like a real victim; meany women!!!
Letter to my teacher
Dear Dick,
I read about your unfortunately less-than-glorious retirement from Curtis and have also heard some bits and pieces from the grapevine. I know you’ve reached out to some of your former students to ask them to write on your behalf and also know that there is a very awkward silence between the two of us ever since December 15, 2018.
I know that you very much wanted me to get a job when I graduated, and I also get the sense that you think I should have done much better than I have, and in fact, you expressed disappointment in my work on December 15, 2018, saying various flaws you perceive in my playing were a shame because I was such a talented student. I do very much want to express my gratitude to you for two reeds you gave me maybe a year after my graduation. You had just played Tchaikovsky #4 on them, were en route to Aspen, and you gave me your two very best reeds because you wanted me to learn the sort of sound production required to play first oboe in an orchestra. While I couldn’t play more than 10 seconds at a time on them initially because they were so much heavier and more reactive than what I was used to as a Curtis student, those reeds changed my whole approach and opened my playing up to things I just hadn’t fathomed before. It was an act of generosity I’m not sure I have ever extended to a student, but I try to emulate.
I was driving you from Philadelphia to Baltimore almost exactly four years ago, with baby Hanky the dog in the back seat, and you referred to yourself as an oboist who lacked confidence in the context of some story or another. I thought you were joking at first, but I’m actually pretty sure you weren’t. It’s all I remember of that story because I was gobsmacked. I certainly never saw you that way, and it’s possible you never saw me that way.
You were often angry at me when I was a student because you felt I did not go to enough concerts of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I almost always took concerts in when I did not have a lesson on Monday, but Curtis provided tickets for Saturday nights. I was almost always in my apartment vomiting on Saturday nights in preparation for my Monday lesson, along with completely insane, unhealthy practicing and reed-making. I never was able to eat anything from Saturday morning until Monday night. By any criteria, I had an eating disorder when I was a student at Curtis. I don’t blame you or anyone else for that, but I wish you had noticed and done something about it, as my teacher. I wish you had seen how nervous and terrified I was to play for you, to sit in your wind class, to give another A after someone got berated, and that I weighed 92 pounds.
I got mostly a lot better when I left Curtis, except for the crippling nerve problem. I can’t tell you how many times I have almost quit music because of it. I have vomited in the halls of nearly every big orchestra in the United States, or at least of those orchestras I’ve auditioned for. Every one. But my vomiting is mostly limited to that activity, which I have quit. In fact, you set me free from it on December 15, 2018, when you yelled at me, in the hallway outside your apartment, that what I provided to the Philadelphia Orchestra was unviable. You didn’t know who I was behind the screen, but I was happy with myself at that audition—my last one—because I showed up, played the way I wanted to do (with some pharmaceutical help, which I know well that you disdain)—and did not vomit. It was an achievement for me and I’m happy to leave my audition career there. In fact, that I still play is an achievement. I have talked to two former Curtisoboe students, one of yours and one of Mr. deLancie’s, who describe nearly identical pathology to mine; neither plays any more. Again, I don’t blame you for this but wish you had been able to recognize and break the cycle.
The amount of respect and consideration I’ve had for you has been, honestly, deeply problematic. And so, you did me a great favor on December 15, 2018 by speaking to me in the way you did, when you called me arrogant and orated in a way that was so obviously wrong to speak to a 40-year-old professional former student who has done reasonably well. I don’t know what your intentions were that day, but I’m guessing what you achieved was accidental. I was able to let you go somewhat, almost all of the way, after that. I have found my own way now, and I have likely made choices that you disagree with, are embarrassed by, or are maybe even enraged enough by that you don’t want to speak to me because you think I’m such a bad oboe player. I play for and as myself now, all the time, every time, and do not consider what you would think of it or any of my other choices. I hope you can be okay with that, as I do ultimately believe it is in the spirit of your teaching, even if you do not like it. Maybe, in fact, this was the most essential element of your teaching.
I’m sorry it wasn’t a bigger, more celebratory ending for your time at Curtis. That’s what I always expected. I’m sorry about December 15, 2018. I’m sorry because I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but also because it was kind of the end of us. Thanks again for everything you did for me.
Sincerely
Feminist agitator