The New York Philharmonic orchestra has dismissed two musicians — an oboist and a trumpet player — over allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power.
“They are barred from the building,” Philharmonic executive adviser Deborah Borda told The Associated Press. “They will never appear on the stage again with the philharmonic.”
Oboist Liang Wang and trumpet player Matthew Muckey are both accused of misconduct dating back to 2010. They were initially fired in September 2018, then reinstated after filing a grievance through their union, Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians.
This April, New York magazine published a report detailing the accusations, which got the two musicians placed on paid leave. They responded by suing the union and the orchestra.
The philharmonic then contracted with Tracey Levy of Levy Employment Law to conduct an independent second investigation. That unearthed new allegations from 11 more women against Wang and three against Muckey. The new report “found that both gentlemen had been involved in sexual abuse and rape as well as abuse of power,” Borda said. “This is all new information that came out, and I think the reason is that people were afraid to speak up before and they are not now.”
In the second review, 11 witnesses in Wang’s case “testified to specific instances of rape, sexual assault, grooming of a young female musician, inappropriate touching and comments, unwelcome kissing, and other sexually harassing behavior,” the guild’s executive committee said in a nine-page decision issued Tuesday. Tthe board agreed not to contest the firings.
Wang and Muckey have both vigorously denied the allegations, with Wang’s lawyer calling the decision “shameful,” saying it amounted to “public character assassination” in the absence of due process. The allegations against Muckey were fewer, but they bore the same hallmarks of power abuse, Levy’s report said. He also has denied the accusations.