www.clydefitchreport.com: Somewhere just outside the limelight of celebrity and political #MeToo takedowns (or should-have-been takedowns), classical music is having an unprecedented reckoning. In the past few months, orchestras worldwide have fired a slew of high-profile conductors and musicians for alleged sexual misconduct. Could it be that in the most reform-proof corner of the performing arts, the paradigm is starting to shift?
2 comments:
In order to actually have the me too movement be more than a headline, we really need to focus on the culture of silence that has persisted for so long. Whisper networks can't help everyone, and are oftentimes not a strong enough deterrent. As the article describes in the classical world, "Everyone knew everything about these men already. Thinking back to my conservatory years, we students knew even then; where detail lacked, we understood implicitly that these things happened frequently and without consequence — assuming you wanted a career. My private teacher, a veteran of a world-renowned ensemble, contributed to this sense with cryptic references to harassment known and experienced. Justice was never a part of the story." The lines from this passage stood out to me, especially regarding the idea that everyone knew that something was wrong, but if you wanted a job you kept your eyes closed and mouth shut. This is why these monsters were able to continue their abuse for so long. People knew, this wasn't some surprise, and frequently it seems that it is just a badly kept secret that people shove under the rug for advancement sake. We need to do better identifying this problem and shining the biggest light we can on it.
No person or industry is exempt from discrimination, and unfortunately, educational environments have continued to allow and cover up cases of sexual misconduct in the name of success and prestige. As we have seen in the music industry with Kesha and the athletic industry with Nassar, (often) young females are subjected to assault in a blackmail sort of “exchange” from men in power. It is unfortunate and infuriating, how time after time, institutions attempt to wash away the evidence, as to not rock the boat, rather than provide justice and preserve the livelihood of a victim. In the instance of Preucil, the article states, “When the relationship threatened to become public, CIM paid for the student to transfer schools and continue her musical education elsewhere.” This basically tells victims of sexual assault to not come fourth, and if they want to keep whatever position they are in, to just be quiet. This needs to come to an end.
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