“Cleveland Orchestra announced Saturday that it has suspended its principal trombonist as part of an ongoing investigation into sexual harassment,” write Anne Midgette and Peggy McGlone in Saturday’s (9/15) Washington Post. “Massimo La Rosa, 43, who joined the orchestra in 2007, is the second musician the orchestra has suspended. William Preucil, the concertmaster, was placed on paid suspension in July…. A statement from the orchestra announcing the suspension did not specify the nature of the claims against La Rosa…. In December, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, La Rosa filed a lawsuit accusing two people of defamation for alleging that he ‘had committed and was criminally culpable for multiple sexual assaults on numerous college campuses.’ … The orchestra did not specify whether the current suspension was related…. Since August, the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton has been undertaking ‘a full independent investigation of sexual misconduct and related issues within the orchestra,’ the orchestra’s statement said. [This summer], the Cleveland Orchestra’s board set up a committee to oversee the investigative process…. Preucil remains on suspension. For the orchestra’s season-opening concerts on Thursday and next Saturday, Peter Otto, the first assistant concertmaster, will take the concertmaster’s chair. La Rosa could not be reached for comment.”
Posted September 17, 2018
