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.)
A petition circulated via email between Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Music participants alleged various accusations against COF Director. The allegations in the petition included reported non consensual 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.
He was the director for the COF Chorus and Orchestra for multiple years.
He declined to comment on the matter to the Voice amidst the ongoing investigation.
A petition containing numerous signatures alleged that the conductor “does not represent the diversity of [our] members nor is capable of fostering the needed relationships with student leadership. In addition, interactions… have become increasingly negative and dangerous.”
It demanded the removal of the director from his position, and the prompt establishment of a new director. Each signatory of the petition pledged to not return to COF Music under his 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 allege 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 allegedly 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 the director’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 his behavior, with “members/e-boards [performing] the majority of member communications, fundraising, and marketing outside of our 2-hour weekly rehearsal, not [the conductor].”
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 the director. When he stepped into the role of assistant conductor, he aimed to act as a liaison between the director and the students amidst difficult communication.
“I already felt like [the director] wasn’t the right fit, and statements from other music members solidified that I don’t believe [he] 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 signees writing alleged remarks from the director and various student testimonies.
The investigation of the director began in late March, with COF Administration proceeding with guidance from legal counsel to ensure everything is in line with policies and legal requirements. The director 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 alleged that the director had invited several students to a “farewell” event with a different ensemble. The director later reached out to the Voice, clarifying the event was organized by a children’s choir board member, where he was, on Apr. 28, “asked to submit a guest list, something [he] did prior to being made aware of any restrictions.”
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. 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 [he] 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 allegations of transphobia in the petition, Felt saying that she feels the director 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 the conductor 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 alleged comments and actions. The allegations included “comfort pats” and “shoulder rubs” that were reportedly non consensual and uncomfortable for the students. In various alleged 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 the director 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.
In one allegation, the director 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. The allegation on the petition claimed that the director said Rist made out like a bandit and that he was still paid by the district.
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.”
This article was updated on September 29. Following the framework of the Boston Globe’s Fresh Start initiative, which “work[s] to better understand how some stories can have a lasting negative impact on someone’s ability to move forward with their lives,” the Voice has removed the identity of the conductor.
The investigation has since concluded with “no finding of sexual or harassing conduct,” explained in correspondence from Ramsbottom obtained by the Voice.
Corrections have also been issued regarding wording of allegations and where proper editing had not been done.
Note: Member of the Editorial Team Alanna Quirk-Aboujaoude was 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 publication process of this piece at the original time of publication.
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Simmons Counseling Center: please visit their website here
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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.
