PROTECTING CLARINETISTS
About the International Clarinet Association's move and how to Support Them Further
Perhaps you have already seen my webpage documenting a small quantity of the statements David Blumberg has made about me.
In 2021, a judge granted me both a temporary and final peace order against Mr. Blumberg, as a result of the communications I shared in court which are also available on my webpage. On July 30, 2021, a judge ordered that Blumberg “shall not abuse, shall not contact, shall not enter residence,” and “shall stay away from {my} employment.” However, since that time, Blumberg has made public reference to attending concerts I am playing and “bringing friends.”
Zeneba Bowers addressed Blumberg’s comments about me in posts in May, 2024.
Before I blocked him in 2021 and informed him that further contact was harassment and ultimately went to court, Mr. Blumberg left dozens upon dozens, perhaps hundreds, of comments on my Facebook page, which he would leave and then delete sometimes just seconds later. For example, he called me “cunt” and then deleted that.
This is apparently not treatment unique to me. It has been documented (partially) by numerous members of the musical community here. Because his comments tend to come and go, it was decided they needed to become permanent on the DropBox in case of safety issues.
It has been alleged—and given his treatment of me, it is certainly plausible to me—that Mr. Blumberg exhibited threatening and concerning behavior at the last conference of the International Clarinet Association (“ICA”). When the following email was sent by Mr. Blumberg to three clarinetists in May, 2024, it is my understanding that people became concerned again for their safety, which given both the email and his history, seems like a reasonable response.
As a result, the ICA issued the following statement, which I have seen in full, but am screenshooting here for the relevant parts. Blumberg is not allowed at the 2024, 2025, and 2026 ICA conferences. The ICA is further encouraging all individuals with information or experiences regarding Mr. Blumberg to contact them at Icahr@clarinet.org.
One must wonder about the “constant attacks” Blumberg refers to. My understanding, which again would be in line with my own experience, is that people were sharing Blumberg’s own words/photos (such as the one above of him with a large gun.) Friendly reminder, if this is the case, that sharing someone’s own work is not an attack.
Multiple threats of violence across multiple people should not be any sort of activity accepted by any musical community. I am glad to see the ICA take substantive action. I hope other international instrument associations will follow suit with their own problematic individuals, including those who are known to be sexual abusers. Looking at you, International Double Reed Society, and your list of honorary members and conference superstars.
Here are some ideas how we, the clarinet and broader musical community, can help in this particular instance:
Don’t stay silent in the face of threats of violence. Report them to law enforcement officials and the ICA, as they request.
Share this information.
Reconsider your clarinet news sources. Blumberg administrates a Facebook group of currently 52,000 people and growing. The group is called Clarinetists and can be found here.
Let Play With a Pro, the lesson platform which supports him, know of your concerns for students, as well as the very Big Fancy Clarinetists who have provided supportive statements for him there, such as Michele Zukovsky and Ricardo Morales.
Let the Juilliard School, where Blumberg claims to be a “Masters Guest Lecturer” know if you are concerned about the safety of their students.
Let the Baldwin Conservatory where Blumberg is listed as fac
I was one of the people that the above photo was aimed at. It’s not the first time- another involved his new gun in a box with Winston Churchill on it stating what a coincidence after his post the previous day. Factoring in that I’m a Brit and he’d put a Churchill quote on FB the day before aimed at myself and clarinet colleagues the nature of this post was terrifying.
These past weeks have been rough. Blumberg placed a classic DARVO tactic on myself and two colleagues who expressed concern for ours and others safety following more gun based threats. This was a very difficult and traumatic situation for many people to have to deal with.
However, as you see after a lot of deep discussions, aided by a very strong and committed DEIA committee, we are seeing that the ICA and ICA board is taking steps and has also offered a firm commitment to protecting the safety of members.
If ICA members have any negative experiences from this person please report. We must not be silenced and we must not be bullied or victimised by men like this.
I am also happy to personally support and help anyone who is wanting to report but feels afraid. I do not want any other clarinet player to go what myself and my dear colleagues have been through.
Thank you Katherine Needleman for your help, support, and advice. I’ll post more on my own page later (I’m travelling at the no), but please can I also encourage you all to support Katherine as she heads over to the platform substack. The work Katherine is doing is life changing to our industry.
I am very curious about the "Juilliard Guest Masters Lecturer" thing he claims in his bio.
There appears no legitimate reason for him to use the name of Juilliard in his c.v. He didn't graduate from that school, nor attend it. He's never taught on the faculty, or its extension.
(I'm wondering if it was some sort of one-off online thing. I haven't found a trace of it yet.)
Blumberg's style is to not only inflate his accomplishment, but also list the accomplishments of others, i.e. "I hold the record for being the youngest teacher ever to have a student win this particular competition" (I think he is the only person keeping track of this "record").
From his bio: "I've judged numerous International Music Competitions with fellow Judges including New York Philharmonic Members."
Or this one: "I gave a Masterclass at the University of Colorado the same day that Flutist James Galway was there giving his." (Wow, that's amazing. Once I sipped wine in the vicinity of a congressman.)
He's also obsessed with the metrics of his Google reviews, as if his word is some kind of brand that guarantees a business success or failure, based on a review left by David Blumberg. In a comment on his FB post 5/15/23 he replied (to someone who commented "Congrats! What's in it for you?" :
"well, if I have a complaint basically anywhere, it gets listened to."
The ego of this guy, his self-importance, the inflation of things that don't matter to anyone but him, the borrowing of others' successes, and the permanent chip on his shoulder when he's questioned - all these characteristics make him a nuisance. But his love of tech and tactical gear, guns, drones, armaments...that makes him dangerous.