Former VSO violinist facing legal threats over sexual assault allegations

A former Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) musician is facing legal action after speaking out about sexual abuse allegations.

“I knew if I stayed silent about this, it was telling the VSO they could do this to someone else,” said Esther Hwang, a former VSO Violinist.

Hwang knew from a young age that she would become a professional musician

“When you start when you’re three, you don’t really have much of a choice.”

After a year at Juilliard, she moved back home to work as a violin extra for the VSO to support her family. She never anticipated what would happen with a senior member of VSO.

“He is 15 years older than me, he is a married father of two children, he is my superior. During my appointment at VSO, he sexually assaulted me and raped me,” Hwang told The Leader Spirit.

When she filed a complaint with the company, she was handed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), a legal demand to never discuss what happened.

“They would not remove the man who assaulted me unless I signed the NDA and settled. I knew back then the NDA was wrong. I knew it was unethical and that it would hurt me, but that was the only choice I was given.”

After Hwang signed the NDA with VSO, she began noticing that she was getting called into work less and less.

She went from playing in every concert for more than two years to playing in none.

She decided to break the NDA and started speaking out about her experience – that’s when VSO slapped her with a cease and desist.

“I knew if I stayed silent about this, about how VSO treated me and how they handled this situation, it was telling the VSO they could do this to someone else,” Hwang said.

By breaking her silence, Hwang is bringing attention to a wider movement to ban the use of NDA’s to cover up sexual misconduct.
“Certainly,  Esther’s courageous breach has inspired a lot of people,” said Julie Macfarlane, Director of the Can’t Buy my Silence organization.

“If there’s been misconduct in the workplace, people need to know about it, because they need to know how to protect themselves in the workplace. Silencing people leaves them with all the burden and nobody to speak to.”

An online petition demanding that the VSO nullify Hwang’s NDA and end the use of NDA’s has garnered more than 11,000 signatures.

In a statement, VSO denies Hwang’s allegations of its retaliation. It is adding that should incidents like this arise in the future, the company would follow the current best practices around NDA’s and legal requirements.

As for Esther, her dedication to her craft remains unchanged

“I still love music. I play as a concert metropolitan orchestra. I play in a string quartet as well, and I teach violin. My love for music, VSO can’t take away.”