The Juilliard School in New York has announced that it fired composer Robert Beaser, the former head of its composition faculty, after an independent law firm investigated allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Beaser dating from the late 1990s and 2000s.
The investigators, from the firm Potter & Murdock, found « credible evidence that Mr. Beaser engaged in conduct which interfered with individuals’ academic work and was inconsistent with Juilliard’s commitment to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for its students. »
Furthermore, investigators found that Beaser had engaged in an unreported relationship that violated Juilliard’s policy at the time and that he had « repeatedly misrepresented facts about his actions. »
Beaser had been the chair of the music conservatory’s composition department for 25 years, between 1994 and 2018. Accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct against the composer were first made public last December in the German-based magazine VAN. Beaser had then been placed on leave, pending the investigation’s outcome. Now, Juilliard wrote in a memo to its students, staff and faculty: « Effective immediately, Mr. Beaser is no longer employed by the school. »
