“Dear Lara…”
A Devastating Film. Watch It.
This essay reflects my personal reaction to a viewing of the new documentary Dear Lara by Lara St John, the classical violinist. The film exposes rampant and decades-long rape and sexual assault of children and other students within the über insular classical music conservatory and university system.
Ten minutes into the film, I was in physical despair… a sensation that weights the chest and slows breathing to a pall; the sensation that comes after panic, when the realization dawns that there is neither rescue nor escape.
93% of victims of sexual abuse know their abuser SOURCE
Every 9 minutes a child is sexually abused SOURCE
No ‘Poor me’ sob story, Dear Lara is a straight-forward exposé of how traditional classical music training and education protects sexual predators at the expense of a vulnerable student population, many of them children.
I deep-breathed myself into the present, and despair was replaced by a rage that sustained me for the next 2 hours.
The Article
In 2019, an article appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The paper’s investigation detailed violinist Lara St John’s account of being sexually abused and raped (repeatedly) at age 14 by her 78 year-old instructor, famed violinist Jascha Brodsky at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. The article revealed that St John reported the abuse to the Curtis Institute of Music’s leadership, who ignored or disregarded her complaints. After the article was published, hundreds of people wrote to Lara St John to describe similar experiences. Dear Lara…
I cannot get behind the paywall for the original article, but here is one from the same time-frame:
Allegations of Sexual Abuse Raised Against Long Time Curtis Institute Violin Teacher
And here is a follow up article from 2024:
Classical Training Culture
It is critical to understand a bit about the culture of classical music training. The private 1:1 lesson and the master-student dynamic form the absolute core of musical study, and is often begun at an unbelievably young age. It creates a closed ecosystem that is uniquely vulnerable to exploitative and abusive personalities.
The master-student model produces extraordinary excellence, but its intense, insular nature creates an extreme power imbalance. The teacher becomes a potent mix of musical guru, life mentor, and career guide. When a student’s entire career, self-worth, and identity depend on the approval of one person, the psychological stakes become exceptionally high.
Back to the Film
At first I thought to myself, How on earth will this musician-turned-filmmaker be able to unravel this into a cogent story? But the film is exceptionally well-crafted and flows logically from one predator, circumstance, and institution to the next with admirable efficiency. It also somehow manages to portray each student target (let me repeat that most in the film were children when they were sexually abused) with great compassion and without a shred of survivor-blaming, an all-too-common occurance.
The film shows us a small sample of living, breathing people who, as children, had been delivered into a system that allowed men — mostly white and old — to turn their power and advantage into a torture chamber for the children entrusted to them, all while being fully protected by their peers and administrations.
Yes, I said, PROTECTED. Not the children; the predators.
Why Would Anyone NOT Believe a Child?
Actually, that is the wrong question. More to the point: why cover up abuse and protect predators? Only a pervert would think a child could make up the details of her own violation. And only the most craven could ignore the clear psychological scars that form and persist. The default should be to believe the harmed party.
Therefore, one can only conclude that those in authority view children as not fully human, and that certain men can do whatever they want.
The prevalence of false allegations is between 2% and 10%. SOURCE
Dear Lara shows us ruined lives. Lifelong pain. Suicide that devastates whole families, friends, and colleagues. Some artists are stopped in their tracks; their musical passion and joy transformed into a morass of shame, guilt, fear, and confusion. And yet, as usual, the survivors are the real heroes. Many, like St John herself, are not silenced — musically or otherwise — but still must fight the extra battle of perpetual trauma in addition to the significant pressures of a classical musician’s life. Meanwhile, the consequences the rapist faces are at worst being transferred to another school.
In The Opera World
One storyline in Dear Lara is that of famed opera singer and former University of Michigan professor David Daniels and his husband Scott Walters. Both were convicted after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting (drugging and raping before brunch) an adult (23 years old). Daniels and Walters received eight years of probation for this second-degree felony in August 2023, and were required to register as lifetime sex offenders.
Opera’s David Daniels pleads guilty and the victim speaks out : NPR
Pretty bad, right? In the film we learn that Daniels immediately posts on socials how he wasn’t really guilty, and soon after was considering accepting some new singing job offers.
And it gets worse.
Dozens of opera professionals — several with whom my husband and I have worked — leapt to his defense and fell all over themselves to praise and support this rapist, despite the process of the US criminal justice system, and despite over 20 separate other credible allegations of sexual harassment against him. Predictably, they also blamed and maligned — you guessed it — the survivor of the assault. WHY?
In this OperaWire article, one commenter is clear when she says:
“A teacher’s primary responsibility is to protect students. Faculty must do better. Stop making excuses for rapists. You cannot post about your school being a source of support and growth when you openly support a convicted sex offender who was also fired from his teaching position for sexually harassing students. You cannot say “I wasn’t there,” as if there is any doubt about his guilt. There is no gray area. No doubt. David Daniels pleaded guilty. He is a registered offender. He was fired from his job. These are facts. Professors who make excuses and show public support for sexual offenders have failed their students in every way. How can a student speak up, knowing that his professor publicly supports a rapist? How can a student feel safe when the people who are supposed to protect her make excuses for sexual offenders? A professor must put her students first.”
Please read the article for many more insightful comments.
The Q & A
Once the film concluded, Lara St John, Katherine Needleman, and Anne Midgette, each activists in their own right, took questions from the audience. Part of the discussion was about why there is any statute of limitations for sexual abuse in Pennsylvania (and 33 other states) and how activists are trying to change this. Two other questions I found interesting:
One was a clearly exasperated older man who wanted to know, “Why are these people not in jail ?!” to which St John answered, “I don’t know!” and this seems to me the crux of the film.
Why are these people not in jail?
Another comment by a middle-aged woman started out with, “I know women must commit these acts too…” All three women (taking questions) confirmed in that moment, as if just realizing it, that of the hundreds of communications each received, none could identify a single instance of sexual predation coming from a woman teacher. The vast majority of predators were (and are) men.
This film shows us just a fraction of the stories of survivors tirelessly collected just by Lara St John. And also just a fraction of the sexual predators/child rapists that live and operate freely in society, many of them lauded and revered despite reports in the public record. What Dear Lara does show in abundance is the level of cover up, protection, excuses, and CYA that goes on in academia.
We Had No Idea
About 10 months ago this website was published: We had no idea. I wrote this Substack article about it, and recommend reading. Please also peruse the site.
The makers of the site have catalogued known sexual predators in the world of classical music, complete with relevant media articles. Only people who have faced legal or professional sanctions are included. In other words, no rumors or gossip, no matter how prevalent.
And just like the contents and scope of the Trump-Epstein Files, it all seems truly unbelievable. Yet this film reveals multiple institutions in America and abroad where students — mostly women and girls — suffered year after year, even after reporting.
I hate talking about this subject. The only thing worse is not talking about it.
The Proverbial Elephant
To be painfully obvious, sexual predators are bad - even if they possess some sort of skill, talent, or level of accomplishment. Their acts of violence violate another person’s bodily autonomy, inflicting direct trauma. Their self-indulgent malice comes at the expense of another. They are aptly called monsters.
The enablers and cover-up artists — presidents, provosts, chancellors, regents, deans, etc. — are morally complicit. Ethically, they are partners in the abuse. Their actions weaponize silence and institutional power to guarantee the predator’s continued access to victims as well as impunity from justice. They create the environment that makes the abuse possible or prolonged. This includes ignoring red flags, discrediting victims, or establishing institutional cultures of silence. By prioritizing reputation, institutional convenience, or personal comfort over human safety, they actively choose to sacrifice victims to protect the predator. No less than the monsters they shield.
Each of us must demand this film be shown in every conservatory and university music department everywhere in the world.
Obviously, everyone should make it their business to know about — and help expose — systemic abuse, but if you are anywhere near the classical music industry, you must not just absorb this film, you must actively demand that it be shown in every conservatory and university music department everywhere in the world in order that:
Children and all students are protected, believed, and nurtured toward healing.
Confrontation of and consequences for sexual predators occur without delay.
The consistent and cultural protection of predators ends immediately.
If provosts, presidents, and deans do not support the above, then there must be a campaign to ask WHY? Those not actively part of the solution are 100% part of the problem.
Dear Lara is a huge step forward in raising awareness of the calamity that exists in our revered institutions of the highest musical learning. With this film we now have a permanent record of both the culture and specific events, as well as a powerful tool to stop active harm and start holding monsters to account. There are no excuses anymore.
NEXT SHOWINGS OF DEAR LARA
May 29, 2026 8:00pm
Berkshire International Film Festival
Great Barrington, MA
And
Sunday, June 7, 2026 | Doors: 1:30pm, Show: 2:00pm
The Cinematique
1131 Howe Street Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2L7
May you live in ease and kindness, with a free heart.
Barbara Shirvis works with individuals seeking voice work — literally and metaphorically.
• Singing lessons: www.WAVS.info
• Well Coaching: www.BarbaraShirvisWellness.com
Hi Barbara! Thanks for your take on this! FYI the artist is the Canadian Anita Kunz.
Excellent review!!