Principal Trombonist Facing Sexual Misconduct Allegations Is Suspended From Teaching Position During Investigation

While the Cleveland Orchestra announced in September, 2018 it would suspend principal trombone Massimo La Rosa pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) took a full month to follow suit.

Nonetheless, according to an article by Zachary Lewis in the 10/16/2018 edition of the Plain Dealer, CIM finally came around. At the same time, they did not provide any additional details beyond a few boilerplate statements about creating a “refocused and formalized” stance on harassment.

Given what’s come to light on the school’s history with handling sexual misconduct accusations as far back as 2004, it would seem as though they have ample room to refocus and formalize.

You can learn more about the allegations against La Rosa’s in an article from 9/17/2018:

How Much Longer Will The Field Enable Rampant Sexual Misconduct?

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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