New York Philharmonic fires two players after allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power

The New York Philharmonic is firing principal oboist Liang Wang and principal trumpeter Matthew Muckey after their union decided not to challenge the decision, which followed renewed allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

The orchestra said Monday it has issued a notice of non-reengagement with the two effective September 21, 2025.

Wang and Muckey were fired in September 2018 following allegations of misconduct dating back to 2010. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians filed a complaint and the two were ordered reinstated in April 2020 by arbitrator Richard I. Bloch. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

New York Magazine made detailed allegations in April and the two were placed on paid leave. They then sued the orchestra and the union.

Local 802’s board of directors said in a nine-page decision issued Tuesday that each member of the orchestra’s nine-member dismissal review committee “expressed disgust at the abuse of power and pattern of conduct.”

Philharmonic adviser Deborah Borda said that during the latest investigation, 11 women made allegations against Wang and three against Muckey.

“It showed that both gentlemen were involved in sexual abuse, rape and abuse of power,” Borda said. “This is all new information that has come out and I think the reason is that before people were afraid to say anything, but that’s not the case anymore.”

Borda said some of the accusations were made by students.

“Matt Mackey did nothing wrong,” said Steven J. Hyman, an attorney for Muckey. “The fact that they tried to do this is obviously a violation of his rights. What’s horrible is that the union agreed to it, and the impact of that is that it makes meaningless this most precious right that orchestra members have to tenure, which ensures that you have a career in the philharmonic orchestra, and only to have a good reason can be terminated. .”

Alan S. Lewis, an attorney for Wang, called the union’s decision “shameful.”

“It is disturbing that the Philharmonic has taken the path of public character assassination instead of due process, throwing a lot of mud against the wall to see what sticks,” he wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Lewis described the most serious accusation against Wang, involving a person not connected to the orchestra and “with whom Liang had a long-term consensual relationship more than a decade ago.”

He called the other accusations against Wang false.

The philharmonic hired Tracey Levy of Levy Employment Law this spring to investigate and issued a non-rehire letter on Oct. 15, following Levy’s conclusions, which the orchestra said were based on new allegations. Muckey said in his lawsuit that New York Magazine’s story contained “a repetition of the same allegations from 2010.”

The decision by the guild’s executive committee said that in Wang’s case, 11 witnesses “testified to specific instances of rape, sexual assault, grooming of a young female musician, inappropriate touching and comments, unwanted kissing and other sexually harassing behavior.”

The report said a woman six years younger than Muckey testified that they “had sex when she was 18 years old and too impaired by alcohol to voluntarily consent.”

“While the allegations against Muckey are not as numerous as those against Wang, we cannot ignore the fact that they demonstrate a similar abuse of power and a failure to recognize the importance of a woman’s consent to sexual relations,” the report said .

According to the orchestra’s employment contract, the philharmonic must provide notice of non-renewed employment by February 15 prior to the season in question. The two had the right to challenge the decision, which the orchestra argued must be “appropriate” under the collective bargaining agreement rather than a “just cause” standard.

“Local 802’s decision is not to arbitrate the termination,” Local 802 President Sara Cutler wrote in an email to orchestra members on Monday.

The board’s unanimous report said the issue is not whether criminal conduct occurred, but only “whether the notices of non-reengagement were appropriate.”

“Given the 11 witnesses who testified about Wang’s pattern of sexual violence and harassment over many years, we cannot believe his denials or his inability to remember these events,” the report said. “With respect to Muckey, we also find his denials insufficient to rebut the witness’s testimony, which the investigator found credible, and the pattern of behavior she described. Furthermore, the lack of remorse and absence of any empathy towards the victims reinforces our view that the dismissal was appropriate.”

According to the report, two-thirds of the orchestra members said they would refuse to appear on stage with the two.

Muckey was hired by the orchestra in June 2006 and became permanent in January 2008. Wang was hired as principal oboe in September 2006.

“They are locked out of the building,” Borda said. “They will never appear on stage with the philharmonic orchestra again.”