The police are investigating claims of sexual harassment at the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).
A spokesperson for the police told Times of Malta that a report had been filed and that police investigations are under way.
The sexual harassment claims, first revealed by The Shift News, were made by a former member of the national orchestra who claimed that she was resigning due to “excessive stress caused by abuse and multiple incidents of sexual harassment that took place at the office and during work functions”.
In her resignation letter, she claimed that she had made several verbal reports about what was going on. These were ignored, leading to her resignation because of the serious impact these incidents had had on her.
She did not reveal in the letter who was behind the alleged harassment.
In the resignation letter, addressed to MPO chief executive Sigmund Mifsud and seen by Times of Malta, the former employee states that she had held discussions with him over the previous months about the incidents that had led to a rapid deterioration in her physical and mental well-being. She said she had requested one year of unpaid leave to “regain her health and seek alternative employment” but her request had been refused.
This, she said, had left her with no option but to “move on to a different chapter to prioritise her well-being”.
The employee’s name is being withheld to protect her identity.
Despite the negative experience, having been subjected to sexual harassment, the alleged victim still thanked Mifsud for having been given the “precious opportunity” to work with the orchestra and be part of its development. She promised to continue supporting the orchestra “as an audience member”.
Mifsud told The Shift that “a board of investigation was appointed to investigate and report on the allegations, as per government policy on sexual harassment claims. The board will investigate all the facts and draw up the conclusions.”
He has so far ignored Times of Malta’s requests for comment.
Previous claims
The resignation letter containing the sexual harassment claims followed similar claims by a Brazilian violinist and cellist who spent a year at the MPO and gave an interview in which she detailed how her experience at the MPO was “shocking” and “toxic”.
Interviewed on a podcast ‘From a Cellist’s perspective’, the anonymous musician insisted that she had decided to leave the MPO due to the “toxic environment” and because “whoever stood up and did not accept certain things was fired”.
She complained about the environment of general unpreparedness, which she found “very frustrating”, especially since the musicians were only receiving the music at the last minute during rehearsals.
“What was most frustrating was it seemed that young girls were being treated differently from the rest,” the musician said as she recounted how she had received complaints about what she wore to rehearsals.