There is a growing backlash against the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for threatening legal action against a violinist for violating a non-disclosure agreement. More than 5,000 people have attached their names to an online petition, which has two demands.
1. That the VSO publicly commit to immediately end its use and enforcement of any agreement that restricts people from speaking about harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, or abuse.
2. That the VSO confirm that it will not pursue legal action against Esther Hwang and issue a public apology for the cease and desist letter.
The online petition surfaced after Hwang revealed that a lawyer representing the VSO had written a cease-and-desist letter on December 18. In the letter, B. Jake Cabott noted her “ongoing and escalating breaches” of a 2019 confidentiality agreement between her, the VSO, an undisclosed person, and the Vancouver Musicians’ Association, Local 145.
“Your obligations under the Confidentiality Agreement remain fully binding,” Cabott wrote. “The VSO reminds you of these obligations and reserves the right to take all steps to enforce its contractual rights arising from your breaches of the Confidentiality Agreement, including by commencing a lawsuit against you.”
Cabott sent the letter to Hwang a day after the publication of a Globe and Mail article about the non-disclosure agreement. In the story, journalist Robyn Doolittle reported the Juilliard alumna’s allegations of being sexually assaulted several years ago by a senior member of the orchestra. The headline stated “NDAs have been blamed for keeping victims quiet. This Vancouver violinist is breaking hers”.
Hwang tells her side of the story
In a subsequent letter to VSO musicians, Hwang revealed details of her alleged assaults in 2017 and 2018 when the VSO employed her as a violin extra. She also mentioned financial pressures to sign the NDA.
“It is important for me to share my story because I do not want anyone else in this orchestra to experience what I went through,” Hwang stated in the letter. “Speaking up is difficult, but I hope that by sharing my experience, it can bring awareness and meaningful change.”
She added that her “intention is to contribute to a safer and healthier culture within the VSO”.
Hwang disclosed in her letter that the settlement called for the unnamed man to be terminated. In addition, she stated that it required the VSO to pay $7,138.34 to the violinist. According to Hwang, these funds covered some of her counselling expenses and missed work.
“I was under extreme psychological and financial stress at the time,” Hwang wrote. “My father had gone bankrupt the previous year, and my income from the VSO made me the highest earner in our family.
“My mother had returned to Korea and was essentially no longer part of our lives,” she continued. “My sister had taken a year off from UBC so she could earn money working as a waitress. My dad and older brother were earning minimum wage. My younger brother was in Grade 10. I paid for most of our rent. Under this pressure, I signed the settlement and NDA simply so I could continue working with the VSO.”
Hwang is now a vocal supporter of the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign, which opposes the use of NDAs to silence victims or whistleblowers.
Lawyer warns of consequences
The VSO lawyer’s letter pointed out that “confidentiality is a fundamental term of the settlement, that breaches may be restrained by injunctive relief and remedied by damages, that remedies are cumulative, and that the confidentiality obligations survive indefinitely”.
“As has been made clear, the Board and management of the VSO took your allegations seriously and retained experienced external investigators to examine your allegation of retaliation,” Cabott stated. “The investigator was unambiguous in finding no evidence to substantiate these allegations, and the VSO continues to act on that basis.”
Following the original Globe and Mail article, musicians of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra issued a public statement on their Facebook page expressing their support for Hwang. The musicians also declared their opposition to the “unethical and immoral” use of NDAs against victims of sexual assault.
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