Content warning: this article discusses sexual misconduct allegations, transphobia and other forms of oppression. For immediate concerns, contact Simmons Public Safety at 617-521-1112 (non-emergency line) or 617-521-1111 (emergency line.
Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Music Director Dan Ryan was accused of “disturbing behavior” through numerous student allegations voiced through a petition that circulated within COF Music. The allegations in the petition include inappropriate touching of students, repeated misgendering and marginalization of transgender students including withholding leadership opportunities based on gender identity, exploiting student time for unpaid labor and dismissive, harmful rhetoric toward survivors of sexual assault.
Ryan has served as the conductor for the COF Chorus and Orchestra since January 2022, and as the artistic director for VOICES Boston, a children’s choir open to ages 5-14 in Greater Boston, since January 2016. He also is a conductor and the music director for Interlochen Arts Camp, an arts-focused summer camp on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.
Dan Ryan declined to comment on the matter to the Voice amidst the ongoing investigation.
A petition of over 50 student signatures detailed that Ryan “does not represent the diversity of [our] members nor is capable of fostering the needed relationships with student leadership. In addition, interactions with Dan have become increasingly negative and dangerous.”
It demanded the removal of Dan Ryan from his position, and the prompt establishment of a new director. Each signatory of the petition pledged to not return to COF Music under Ryan’s leadership.
An ongoing investigation has been confirmed, which includes communications with students who raised the issue to their attention along with hiring an external investigator, who COF students cite as having a “very clear conflict of interest.”
As the petition circulated around COF Music and the investigation began, a student spoke with the internal investigator who at the start of their conversation, said she had met COF Executive Director Claire Ramsbottom at the start of the investigation. As they wrapped up their approximately 90-minute conversation, the investigator revealed that she has worked for Ramsbottom for five years and “believes her to do the right thing in these situations.”
“Ensuring a safe and respectful environment for students is a top priority for the Colleges of The Fenway,” said Ramsbottom in a statement to the Voice. Ramsbottom’s statement also confirmed Ryan’s part-time availability to COF’s chorus and orchestra and that he is not currently working with students nor the program.
In the petition, obtained by the Voice, students claimed that they were “fed up” with Ryan’s behavior, with “members/e-boards [performing] the majority of member communications, fundraising, and marketing outside of our 2-hour weekly rehearsal, not Dan.”
Sam Bruetsch, a rising senior who’s been involved with COF Chorus since the first semester of his freshman year, said that he and others have experienced poor communication and general frustration with Ryan. When he stepped into the role of assistant conductor, he aimed to act as a liaison between Ryan and the students amidst difficult communication.
“I already felt like [he] wasn’t the right fit, and statements from other music members solidified that I don’t believe Ryan is the correct conductor for this group,” said Bruetsch.
As time passed and his concern for member safety and longevity of the program grew, Bruetsch helped to write the petition. Within 48 hours of its launch, over 45 signatures, most including statements, were on the petition. This equals, according to Bruetsch, approximately one-third of the chorus. It became an 11-page document including remarks from Ryan and various student testimonies.
The ongoing investigation of Ryan began in late March, with COF Administration proceeding with guidance from legal counsel to ensure everything is in line with policies and legal requirements. Ryan was subsequently notified of the allegations and was instructed to have no contact with chorus or orchestra members, along with abiding to the anti-retaliation policy, meaning he must not take any adverse action against anyone he believed to be involved in the complaint.
Multiple students whom the Voice spoke with said that Ryan had invited several students to a VOICES Boston “Dan Ryan Farewell” event. Students in communication with COF administration who are in a liaison-like role between COF administration and their fellow students email COF music students periodic updates on what the administration is doing along with resources.
In one of those emails, obtained by the Voice, “the VOICES BOSTON event invitations that Dan sent out were in direct violation of COF Administration’s instruction, as well as VOICES Boston Executive Board’s unanimous vote to not invite COF members amidst the investigation.”
At time of publication, The Voice has not been made aware of any further action taken by COF Administration to remove Ryan from his position.
The COF employee handbook outlines investigations as including private interviews with the filer of the complaint along with witnesses, and the person who committed the alleged harassment. If the conclusion is that harassment has occurred, COF “[acts] promptly to eliminate the offending conduct, and where it is appropriate, will also impose disciplinary action.”
Bruetsch has also emphasized how student-driven COF Music is, with the significant growth in membership coming from student initiative, not Ryan. He called the program unique, saying that they foster connections with students and alumni alike while performing difficult pieces alongside more demanding choruses and full-time conductors, doing so with less time than other groups.
He also opened up about the time where in his assistant conductor role, he picked a concert piece out and conducted rehearsals outside of set time, saying that a significant amount of chorus success has fallen under the students.
Christine Felt, a 2025 Simmons graduate who was involved in both COF Chorus and Orchestra, said as someone who has been in music for most of her life, she “didn’t really care for him as a conductor,” but considered him fine enough for the group. When she took on section leader positions in both organizations, she called the little support she got in the role “a good introduction to how he functions with the rest of the organization.”
“The executive boards will do so much work organizing everything and everyone, then [Ryan] will get an idea with such short notice and suddenly they have to change everything without prior notice or expectation,” said Felt, who added that it was a consistent experience.
Felt and Bruetsch both identify as transgender and echoed the transphobia allegations in the petition, Felt saying that he treats cisgender men in both groups very differently than others. Specifically, with non-men in the program, Felt noticed that he changes tone and becomes “non-caring,” and that consistently this has not been the case with cisgender men in the program.
Both Felt and a member of the chorus and orchestra who has been granted anonymity out of fear of retaliation from the Colleges of the Fenway, noted multiple incidents of misgendering and deadnaming of transgender students; Felt said it was ignorant of Ryan to not bother to focus on that.
“He portrays himself as someone who would be supportive, but isn’t living up to that in any way,” said Felt.
Many signatories of the petition also voiced their concern with comments and actions of Ryan’s regarding sexual assault, including “comfort pats” and shoulder/back rubs from Ryan that were nonconsensual and uncomfortable for the students. In many instances, they were done to student leaders amidst their efforts to manage the group in a professional capacity.
“[Students] are clearly uncomfortable and express for him not to do that,” said Felt. The anonymous source has known Ryan for several years, saying that while he hadn’t witnessed any inappropriate touching happen, he would not be surprised if inappropriate touching of students had occurred.
Ryan also informed students of his “innocent until proven guilty” mindset concerning sexual assault and that he had friends with allegations. Notably, Ryan included a piece in a concert by Joshua Rist, who was paid to resign after accusations of grooming and harassing two students in Oregon, where Rist’s teaching license remains active. A quote from Ryan recorded by a student was that Rist “made out like a bandit – he was still getting paid by the school district…if anything had really happened, he wouldn’t have still been working in the area.”
He added that it was “all reported during the Me Too Movement when girls were telling stories to get attention.”
Bruetsch’s decision to sign the petition, knowing it meant he wouldn’t return to a program that was such a prominent representation of music throughout the Colleges of the Fenway, was not taken lightly. Simmons sunsetted the music major along with the Department of Art and Music in 2023, and the Simmons Chamber Choir — according to Bruetsch — has received significant defunding.
He also added his desire for Simmons to show support for students, hoping for resources from Title IX and/or the Counseling Center, as Simmons has the most members not just in the COF Chorus but within COF Music itself.
“We’ve chosen to do this because it’s affected so many students,” said Bruetsch. “There are so many incredible members who do so much…chorus members really care about the program.”
If you have any information amidst the investigation, please contact The Voice at voice@simmons.edu and/or The Colleges of the Fenway at cof-admin@colleges-fenway.org.
Note: The Voice’s News Editor, Alanna Quirk-Aboujaoude, is a member of the Colleges of the Fenway Chorus. As per our Code of Ethics, Quirk-Aboujaoude was not involved with the reporting, editing or publishing process of this piece.
Please note the following student and faculty resources:
Simmons Counseling Center: please visit their website here
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline can be reached by calling or texting 988 or visiting their website to talk to an online counselor.
For immediate concerns, if you believe you or someone else may be in danger to themselves or others, call Simmons Public Safety at 617-521-1111 for the emergency line.
