Withdrawing Support from CMEC: Civility Without Accountability Isn’t Advocacy
- Katie A. Berglof
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Why I’m Cutting Ties with CMEC
Advocacy isn’t just about mission statements — it’s about showing up when it matters. In recent weeks, as musicians have spoken out about injustice in our field, I’ve watched the Coalition of Musicians for Ethical Change (CMEC) remain silent, deflect, and align with those protecting power over people.
I once offered my support to CMEC. I can no longer do so in good conscience.
Below is my formal letter withdrawing all affiliation with the organization — and explaining why ethical change must be more than just a name.
I am not the only one to write to them about the failure in leadership. I encourage you to write to CMEC, and cc’ LOAO, ICSOM, AFM, and IWBC too if haven’t done-so — since these are all organizations considering teaming up with CMEC.
Subject: Withdrawing Support from CMEC - Civility Without Accountability Isn’t Advocacy
Dear Coalition of Musicians for Ethical Change Founders,
I am writing to formally and permanently withdraw any support I have previously offered to Classical Musicians for Ethical Change (CMEC), including but not limited to my past offer to assist with grant writing and any public or private endorsement of your organization discussed with Lisa Ford via email and/or zoom meeting. Remove me from all mailing lists, invitations, or directories. I no longer wish to be affiliated with CMEC in any capacity.
This heavy decision stems from a growing disappointment in the organization's failure to show up when it has mattered most — particularly, executive director Lisa Ford in recent public conversations where women and marginalized musicians have spoken out with courage about the inequities still deeply embedded in our field, including myself.
And also due to another founder of CMEC, Sylvia Alimena's support of Markus Osterlund who is a known gatekeeper of sexual predator/horn player William VerMeulen.
I have watched advocates for gender equality, safety, and accountability over the past two weeks be met with deflection, dismissal, and silence — not only from individuals, but from institutions that claim to care about change.
CMEC, sadly, has been one of them.
While I understand that there are many approaches to advocacy, your organization's mission statement — particularly its emphasis on addressing injustice “with civility, politeness and courtesy in behavior and speech” — has proven, in practice, to be a mechanism for prioritizing tone over truth. If your version of advocacy centers the comfort of the privileged rather than the voices of the marginalized, then I must question whether the “ethical change” you speak of is merely symbolic.
Civility does not mean neutrality in the face of harm. And silence — especially when wielded by organizations with platforms and influence — is never neutral.
I was especially disheartened by the public comments made by Lisa Ford, your executive director, during a recent discussion involving Frøydis Ree Wekre and numerous women sharing their experiences with discrimination in music. I have attached photos of my response to her statement in this email. Rather than engaging with the substance of the concerns being addressed or standing in solidarity with those who were speaking up, Lisa chose to post one lone comment after days of women putting in hours of effort and advocacy in the comments, and she chose to frame those voices as “attacks” and minimized their contributions by cloaking her response in tone-policing language and vague calls for mutual understanding — without offering a single concrete path forward or acknowledgment of the imbalance in the conversation. You can find the original Froydis Ree Wekre thread on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DXGuhi7XT/ and a follow-up post by Froydis here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15DUCUmXPW/
Likewise, I am deeply disturbed to see Sylvia Alimena, another CMEC founder, showing sympathy and alignment with individuals defending William VerMeulen — a known abuser with multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, coercion, and sending explicit photos to students.
Article on VerMeulen's former students speaking out on sexual harassment, exploitation, and coercion can be found here:
https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2025/02/houston-horn-player-harrassed-rice-students-the-school-knew
VerMeulen’s enablers do not deserve protection or empathy from organizations claiming to promote “ethical change.” Survivors do. And when those entrusted to lead choose proximity to power over solidarity with the harmed, it tells me all I need to know about where their loyalties truly lie.
If CMEC cannot support those doing the difficult work of advocacy — especially in spaces that are not kind to them — then what, exactly, is the purpose of your existence? If your founders cannot model courageous and informed responses to injustice, then what ethical change are you actually committed to?
I sincerely hope CMEC will reflect on what it means to be more than a name, more than a mission statement, and more than an exercise in public image. Because real change requires more than civility. It requires courage, accountability, and a willingness to be uncomfortable in service of something greater than optics.
Until then, I no longer wish to be affiliated.
Sincerely, Katie A. Berglof Editor, Harpsichords & Hot Sauce | Orchestra Journal https://www.harpsichord-hotsauce.com Founder, Courage Over Silence Defense Fund https://gofund.me/6916fc9c
Designated Petition Messenger Safe Stages: Petition to Remove William VerMeulen from Houston Symphony and Reform Audition Processes
✍️ My post on Lisa Ford, executive director of CMEC, in regards to her comment on Froydis post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Acp7V2GLp/? ✍️ My open letter to Froydis Followers:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AqvevNh25/? ✍️ A real example of what it looks like when horn players (especially male allyship) actually support women speaking out:
📰 News Article on William VerMeulen Misconduct at Rice and testimonies from students:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16d3UkbF84/? ✍️ My post on Markus Osterlund #1:
✍️ My post on Markus Osterlund #2:
✍️ My post on Markus Osterlund #3:
✍️ What I wrote to James Sommerville, former Boston Symphony principal horn, in a conversation about Froydis's post, and on gender data and statistics in competitions and auditions. This "proof of data" is often something men demand whenever women bring up the topic of gender discrimination in brass playing:
✍️ Another Exhausting Letter to a Man Who Questions My Right to Speak:
(c) Katie A. Berglof, 2025
