William Preucil

William Preucil (born January 30, 1958) is an American violinist. During a musical career spanning several decades, he has served as concertmaster for four major American orchestras. He also played with the Cleveland Quartet, and in 1996 won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. He was a longtime member of the faculty at Cleveland Institute of Music until he resigned in 2018 following allegations that he had committed sexual assault.

Early life and education

William Preucil was born on January 30, 1958 in Dearborn, Michigan, to a musical family. His mother, father, and various siblings played violin, while other family members played the harp, the horn, and the cello.[1]

Preucil started playing the violin at the age of five, initially studying with his mother. At the age of 16, he graduated with honors from the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He later entered the Indiana University School of Music, where he earned a Performer's Certificate under the tutelage of Josef Gingold.[2] He also studied with Zino Francescatti and György Sebők.[3]

Career

In 1982, Preucil became the concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; he had previously served as the concertmaster of the Utah Symphony and the Nashville Symphony. He appeared as soloist with the orchestra in 70 performances of 15 different violin concertos.[2] In 1989, Preucil left the Atlanta Symphony to become the first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet; he would remain so until the quartet's disbanding seven seasons later. During his tenure with the ensemble, Preucil won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance in 1996 for a recording of John Corigliano's String Quartet.[4] He also recorded the complete cycle of 17 Beethoven string quartets, as well as chamber works by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and Brahms, for Telarc.[2]

In 1995, Preucil became the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra; he regularly appeared with the orchestra as soloist in concertos,[2] and also has appeared as soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra. Each summer, Preucil also serves as the concertmaster of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Preucil is currently the violinist of the Lanier Trio, which has recorded the complete Dvořák piano trios and the trios of Mendelssohn and Paulus.[2]

Preucil was a longtime faculty member of the Cleveland Institute of Music and was serving as Distinguished Professor of Violin upon his resignation in 2018. Preucil also served as Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Furman University before being terminated in 2018. He also previously served on the faculties of the University of Georgia and the Eastman School of Music.[3]

Sexual misconduct allegations

On July 26, 2018, graphic allegations of Preucil committing acts of sexual misconduct were published in The Washington Post.[5] Preucil's employers swiftly reacted in wake of the revelations. On July 27, 2018, André Gremillet, the Cleveland Orchestra's executive director, announced that the orchestra was supending Preucil with pay[6] and investigating the claims made in the Washington Post.[7][8] Additionally on July 27, Paul Hogle, the president and executive director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, released a statement saying that while he declined to comment on details in the article, the school is "deeply troubled" by the allegations and has "zero tolerance" for behavior that puts its students at risk.[9] According to a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Institute of Music, the school had begun to review the situation internally.[6] On July 28, 2018, Preucil resigned from the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music[10][11] and was removed from his post at Furman University.[12]

Personal life

Preucil is married to the violinist Gwen Starker-Preucil, daughter of cellist János Starker.[1] His daughter, Alexandra Preucil, is also a violinist; she previously served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "William Preucil | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "William Preucil". www.clevelandorchestra.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "William Preucil". Cleveland Institute of Music. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ "William Preucil". GRAMMY.com. May 22, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ Midgette, Anne; McGlone, Peggy. "Assaults in dressing rooms. Groping during lessons. Classical musicians reveal a profession rife with harassment". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil suspended amid allegations of sexual misconduct". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ Scofield, Drew (July 27, 2018). "Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil suspended amid sexual assault allegations". newsnet5. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Cleveland Orchestra Suspends a Star After Accusation of Assault". Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster suspended after sexual harassment allegations". fox8.com. July 27, 2018. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ Slippedisc. "Exclusive: Cleveland concertmaster resigns one post". Slipped Disc. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  11. ↑ "After Miami Assault Allegation, Violinist Resigns From Cleveland Institute of Music". Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  12. ↑ Midgette, Anne; McGlone, Peggy. "In wake of Post story about allegations, an opera director leaves the field". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Alexandra Preucil". Cleveland Orchestra. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
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