NYU ditches flute prof Bradley Garner over sexual misconduct claims

Kate Murphy | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Flute students accuse ex-University of Cincinnati professor of 2 decades of sexual misconduct A prominent musician sexually harassed students at the University of Cincinnati and elsewhere, UC investigators found.

CINCINNATI — World-renowned flutist Bradley Garner is no longer teaching at New York University after the school learned of allegations of sexual misconduct from a Cincinnati Enquirer investigation.

NYU spokesman Jordan Bennett said Wednesday the university was "unaware of allegations" surrounding Garner until an inquiry from an Enquirer reporter.

"As of today, Mr. Garner is no longer an adjunct faculty member at NYU," Bennett said in a statement. "Providing our students with a safe space to learn is our priority, and sexual misconduct of any kind is not tolerated."

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Meanwhile, Wildacres Flute Retreat, a Western North Carolina flute camp, is standing behind and continuing to employ Garner, despite the allegations.

Garner faced allegations of sexual harassment of students spanning two decades during a University of Cincinnati investigation in 2016. The investigators found evidence of "unwanted sexual advances and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature," as well as a "hostile environment" in the flute studio at UC's College-Conservatory of Music.

Considering the pervasiveness of the harassment, The Enquirer has continued to ask the University of Cincinnati leadership, faculty and administrators at CCM about the culture and the alleged behavior.

Administrators at the UC, however, have remained mute.

The Enquirer sought comments from UC President Neville Pinto; former CCM Dean Peter Landgren, who is now president of the UC Foundation; Interim CCM Dean Bruce McClung; Randy Gardner, current chair of winds and percussion department and others in CCM.

None responded.

Meanwhile, the chatter on social media flourished.

F I N A L L Y. Every #flutist in the USA knows about Brad Garner. He's the one we all know to avoid. But @YamahaMusicUSA and many organizations still support him. Disgusting. https://t.co/YTw6sp8EUf — Meerenai Shim (@meerenai) February 7, 2018

Stevens, a flute teacher at the American Music Institute in Illinois, also helped start a petition to the National Flute Association asking that Garner is "banned for life from teaching, presenting, or performing at conventions."

The petition had nearly 90 signatures Wednesday evening.

Jointly starting the petition was Mary Hales, a master's student at the University of Missouri in Columbia. She said she never studied with Garner, but knows many of his former students.

"My initial gut reaction was I was just sick to my stomach that this was happening at all," Hales said. "Everyone seems to know that it was going on and no one was doing anything about it."

She said she hopes getting the National Flute Association involved would make a difference. Garner served on the association's board in the 1990s.

"It's been made pretty clear in a lot of industries that we are not going to tolerate harassment and assault," Hales said. "It's the flute world's turn."

Flutists around the country also took to Twitter to express their concern that Garner is still teaching and employed by Yamaha as one of the musical instrument company's promotional artists.

Hey @wildacresNC @YamahaMusicUSA why are you still working with Bradley Garner, a man accused by over 20 women and girls + witnesses of sexual harassment and assault, some documented? — lady mickbeth (@TickTockBANG) February 7, 2018

Yamaha did not respond to questions regarding the investigation into Garner, whether Yamaha was notified about the allegations or if Garner will continue to represent the company.

In North Carolina, Wildacres Course Director Anna Thibeault said Garner has taught at the camp, which draws students from all over the United States and the world, for 15 years.

"I know the easiest way would be to say, ‘Brad, I think maybe you had better not come back,' but I’ve got more of a moral backbone than that," Thibeault told the Asheville Citizen-Times in an interview in which she referred to a 15-year-old girl as "a Lolita."

"I think it’s very, very unfair, and I’m so disgusted," Thibeault said of the investigation into Garner.

Follow Kate Murphy on Twitter: @KateMurphyENQ