Calgary Philharmonic Removes Two Musicians After Month-long Review of “Deeply Troubling” Online Comments

In Tuesday’s (5/21) Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada), Josh O’Kane writes, “The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra has removed two of its musicians, two sources say, a month after it launched an investigation into what it called ‘deeply troubling comments posted online.’ In a statement on April 22 announcing the investigation, the orchestra said it was following its code of conduct and working alongside the Calgary Musicians Association union to ‘urgently’ look into the comments … Calgary Philharmonic chief executive officer Marc Stevens said in an e-mail that the orchestra would ‘address the behavior of two of our orchestra members,’ without naming the musicians or elaborating the behavior. The names and biographies of principal clarinettist Slavko Popovic and principal oboist Alex Klein were removed from the Calgary Philharmonic’s website Tuesday…. Neither Mr. Popovic nor Mr. Klein responded to requests for comment…. The exact comments that triggered the investigation have not been disclosed, nor has the reasoning for the musicians’ removal from the orchestra … Prior to the Calgary Philharmonic’s April 22 statement, screenshots were circulated online on Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit of a user with Mr. Popovic’s name using slurs against women and Black people…. Mr. Popovic … joined the Calgary Philharmonic after attending Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Klein is a Grammy Award-winning oboist who has previously worked with the Chicago Symphony.”