Cleveland Fires Principal Trombone After Investigation

On Wednesday, October 24th, the Washington Post (among other news sources) published an article stating that the Cleveland Orchestra had fired their concertmaster, William Preucil, as well as their Principal Trombonist, Massimo La Rosa. For the past eight years, whispers and hear-say had floated throughout the trombone community about the behavior of Cleveland’s principal trombonist. In 2013, Inside HigherEd had published an article detailing the claim filed with the University of Iowa police against La Rosa. While these conversations may have been pushed under the rug, it wasn’t until, December 2017, when the hushes became a louder voice to the public ear – but in an unconventional way. La Rosa had filed a lawsuit accusing detractors of defamation.

On July 26, 2018, Anne Midgette of the Washington Post publicly revealed stories of harassment and inappropriate behavior found within the Classical Music industry. Since then, conductors and musicians have been released from substantial positions. It was only a matter of time for Cleveland to do the same. In September 2018, Cleveland placed La Rosa on suspension. It was also at this time that the Cleveland Institute of Music placed La Rosa on leave while the famed music institute conducted their own investigation (at the time of this writing, he is still on leave).

Update: Massimo La Rosa has resigned from the Cleveland Institute of Music

While the Cleveland Orchestra still has not filled their Principal Horn and Bass Trombone positions, the termination of these two men adds to the holes found in very intricate spots for this world-renowned orchestra.

Click here to read the 12-page investigative report from the Cleveland Orchestra

Updated on October 27th at 4:51 p.m.