The day before Beaser went on leave, a group called Composers Collective began collecting signatures for an open letter calling for him to be placed on leave until the investigation was complete. The letter now bears hundreds of signatures, including those of several leading lights of classical composition.
“Though we recognize and appreciate the need for due process,” the letter said, “the volume of allegations, testimony and supporting evidence of Beaser’s misconduct are undeniably unsettling. Until the investigation is resolved, Beaser’s presence in the Juilliard composition department could jeopardize the emotional well-being of students and inhibit a safe and healthy learning environment.”
Composers Collective informally came together 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 made her think “of the hundreds of women who didn’t get in because there was no one to teach them,” she said, “or, like me, turned down the opportunity to study at the best school in the country.” She noted that mentors were important to composers beyond their school years, providing recommendations and “all the things you need to move a career forward.”
Juilliard’s investigation into Beaser comes several years into a reckoning with the ways in which powerful institutions have tolerated abuse by powerful and talented men. Most notably in the world of classical music, the Metropolitan Opera fired the celebrated conductor James Levine in 2018 after an investigation prompted by a New York Times report found evidence of “sexually abusive and harassing conduct.”
“Classical music as a whole tends to be a step or two 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 about Beaser. “There’s still a lot that needs to happen, that we’re rooting out or figuring out.”
