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

Associated Press

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

The orchestra said Monday it issued a notice of non-reengagement to the two effective Sept. 21, 2025.

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

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

Local 802’s executive board said in a nine-page decision issued Tuesday that every member of the orchestra’s nine-member dismissal review committee “expressed revulsion at the abuse of power and pattern of behavior.”

Philharmonic executive adviser Deborah Borda said 11 women made accusations against Wang and three against Muckey during the latest investigation.

“It found that both gentlemen had been involved in sexual abuse and rape as well as abuse of power,” Borda said. “This is all new information that came out and I think the reason is that people were afraid to speak up before and they are not now.”

Borda said some of the allegations were made by students.

Steven J. Hyman, a lawyer for Muckey, accused the union of a “baseless smear campaign, ignoring clear evidence to the contrary.”

“Local 802’s decision is deeply troubling and raises serious questions about potential collusion with the philharmonic in their effort to terminate Matthew Muckey without just cause,” Hyman said in a statement Tuesday. “They reference an alleged encounter from 2008 with a young woman, claiming she did not provide meaningful consent; however, contemporaneous text messages directly contradict this allegation.”

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

“Troublingly, the philharmonic has gone down the road of public character assassination instead of due process, throwing a lot of mud against the wall to see what sticks,” he wrote Monday in an email to The Associated Press. Lewis described the most serious allegation against Wang involving a person unaffiliated with the orchestra and “with whom, more than a decade ago, Liang had a long-term consensual relationship.”

He called the other allegations against Wang false.

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

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

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

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

Under the orchestra’s labor contract, the philharmonic must give notice of a non-reengagement by the Feb. 15 prior to the season in question. The two had the right to contest the decision, which the orchestra said must be “appropriate” under the collective bargaining agreement instead of a “just cause” standard.

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

The executive board’s unanimous report said it was not determining whether criminal conduct took place but only “whether the notices of non-reengagement were appropriate.”

“Considering the 11 witnesses who testified about Wang’s pattern of sexual violence and harassment over many years, we do not credit his denials or failure to remember these events,” the report said. “With respect to Muckey, we similarly do not find his denials sufficient to overcome the testimony of the witness whom the investigator found credible and the pattern of conduct she described. Additionally, the lack of any contrition and the absence of any empathy shown towards the victims reinforces our view that the dismissal was appropriate.”

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

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

“They are barred from the building,” Borda said. “They will never appear on the stage again with the philharmonic.”