This takes a turn, so read the whole thread.
The piano professor I started with in my undergrad program was rather famous and well respected, but he was verbally abusive to me. Within a few weeks I had enough and demanded reassignment. I later found out that he was that way to everyone. The teacher I had for the rest of my undergrad was absolutely phenomenal, and continues to be an inspiration to me as a musician who is soft spoken and humble despite their enormous ability.
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Today I met a fellow classical pianist who attended the same university (I believe several years after me) and had the same professor I started with, but he was both *physically* and verbally abusive to her. Apparently he used to hit her when she wasn't playing up to his standard. I was shocked, but not surprised. This person did not feel comfortable going to the head of the department as I did, however. She stayed with this professor all four years.
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That’s highly unfortunate.
@voltronic it reminds me my music school, where physical abuse was quite normal...almost all teachers hit fingers of students with ruler if we made mistake...I loved piano in the beginning, I hated it when I graduated...
@Faustus
I'd like to think there's a special level of hell for people who do this, where they're constantly forced to play even though they know pain is coming.
@voltronic agree.. their way of teaching really ruined future life of so many good musicians...
When she shared what was going on with friends, they just kind of said "yeah, that's how he is". She never reported the abuse out of fear of reprisal. I was horrified hearing this.
The point of me posting this is that terrible people taking advantage of power dynamics can be found in places many of us would not suspect.
If you see something, say something. Stories like this will continue to happen until we make it impossible for abusers to keep their jobs.
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