Lara St. John to Release Documentary About Sexual Abuse in Classical Music Industry

The violinist has spoken to multiple survivors of sexual misconduct in hopes to bring about immediate change and awareness

In July of 2019, Canadian–born violin soloist Lara St. John told the Philadelphia Inquirer that as a 14-year-old first-year student at the Curtis Institute of Music in 1985, her then 78–year–old violin teacher, Jascha Brodsky, attempted to kiss her and touch her inappropriately on multiple occasions over a six month period. The behavior then progressed to a rape in his office.

Since this revelatory article was published, and a public and personal acknowledgment and apology was issued by Curtis, the now 53-year-old violinist has been contacted by hundreds of women, and a few men, sharing their experiences with abuse, assault, and harassment in the classical music industry.

Most recently, Lara has announced the upcoming release of her full-length documentary, entitled "Dear Lara," which explores her personal experience in addition to those of other victims at music schools and orchestras around the world.

For the film, Lara interviewed several of those brave enough to speak out, with many agreeing to be identified after initially wanting to remain anonymous. The project was partially funded by foundation and individual support but received its primary funding from St. John, herself, following the sale of her own Manhattan apartment.

"The survivors in my film are only a fragment of the legion of stories out there about rampant, unchecked abuse in classical music," Lara today told The Violin Channel. "This has to be known, and it has to be stopped."

St. John and film producer Patrick Hamm are currently in the process of finalizing the film and submitting it to multiple film festivals.

"Viewers will be outraged, and certainly non-musicians will be shocked," she said. "For me, the most appalling was the discovery of the enormous amount of institutional complicity with the predators. Almost every music institution puts its own reputation above the safety of women and children."

When asked what changes she wishes to see happening following the release of the documentary, Lara said that she wants "the conservatories and universities and orchestras to have a reckoning, with their past, their future, and stop deifying men."

"They need to admit to wrongdoing and take every possible precaution to never let these things happen again. Predator Whac-A-Mole (my term for allowing depraved men to quietly resign, enabling them to simply take their behavior elsewhere) must stop. It's unconscionable, and it's everywhere," Lara appealed.

Lara has also called for former students of Jascha Brodsky who list his name in their artist biographies to remove him.

"[Acknowledging him] tells me that it’s more important for them to have this supposedly very hallowed teacher at this supposedly very hallowed institution on their stupid bio than it is to support a survivor of child rape. And that really makes me mad,” she said.