The day before Beaser went on leave, a group called the Composers Collective began collecting signatures for an open letter calling for him to be placed on leave until the investigation was completed. The letter now has hundreds of signatures, including those of some classic kingpins.
“While we recognize and appreciate the need for due process of law,” the letter said, “the multiple allegations, testimony and corroborating evidence of Beaser’s misconduct are undeniably troubling. Until the investigation is resolved, Beaser’s presence in Juilliard’s composition department may endangering the emotional well-being of students and hindering a safe and healthy learning environment.”
Composers Collective met informally more than a year ago to support victims of discrimination in the small, rarefied world of academic music composition, said one member, Missy Mazzoli, a composer and faculty member at the Mannes School of Music and at Bard College. She was offered admission to Juilliard’s composition program two decades ago, she said, but turned it down because of rumors of gender discrimination.
The VAN article reminded her of “the hundreds of women who were denied admission because there was no one to teach them,” she said, “or who, like me, turned down the opportunity to study at the best school in the country.” . .” She noted that mentors were important to composers after school, providing recommendations and “all the things you need to advance a career”.
Juilliard’s investigation into Beaser features several years in a reckoning with the ways powerful institutions have tolerated abuse by powerful and talented men. Particularly in the world of classical music, the Metropolitan Opera fired celebrated conductor James Levine in 2018 after an investigation following a DailyExpertNews report found evidence of “sexual abuse and harassment”.
“Classical music as a whole often lags a few steps behind the larger culture when it comes to both political and aesthetic issues,” said Timo Andres, a composer, pianist, and Mannes faculty member who signed the open letter on Beaser. “There’s still a lot to do, we’re rooting that out or figuring that out.”