Sat Oct 3
“Dear Lara” Film Screening + Conversation with Lara St. John
Canadian-born violinist, filmmaker, and Member of the Order of Canada Lara St. John has spent decades performing as a soloist with major orchestras around the world. Described by The New York Times as a “high-powered soloist,” she is also the founder of her own independent recording label, Ancalagon, and a JUNO Award-winning recording artist. In recent years, St. John has become an outspoken advocate for survivors of abuse in classical music, drawing on her own experience at the Curtis Institute of Music and the stories subsequently shared with her by musicians around the world.
Dear Lara is a deeply personal documentary exposing decades of sexual abuse and institutional complicity in classical music. The story began in 2019, when St. John spoke publicly about the sexual assault she endured as a 14-year-old student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. After her story was published, survivors from across the classical music world began reaching out. St. John picked up a camera and travelled across North America and Europe to hear their stories, uncovering a recurring pattern of abuses of power, institutional silence, and organizations protecting reputations at the expense of the vulnerable. Bringing together survivor testimony, investigative inquiry, fellow musicians, journalists, students, and activists, Dear Lara became both a reckoning from within classical music and a call for cultural change.
“St. John […] does not follow the creed that a journalist’s job is to look but not touch […]. She openly approaches the institutions that are causing harm. Her dialogue with these institutions—or lack thereof—is central to her argument that claims of abuse are being swept under the rug.” — Hal Kowalewski, La Scena
We’re delighted to welcome Lara St. John back to Ottawa Chamberfest for this special screening and conversation, presented as part of a multi-day Ottawa residency exploring music, abuse, institutional responsibility, and change. During her time in the city, she will also engage with students, educators, and community and institutional leaders in discussions inspired by the film.
Artists:
- Lara St. Johnviolin
The Team:
Director:
Lara St. John
Writers:
Lara St. John, Patrick Hamm, Christie Herring
Producer:
Patrick Hamm
Cast:
Lara St. John, Lusiana Lukman, Katherine Needleman, Samuel Schultz, Heather Bird, Mascha van Sloten, Lisamarie Vana, Marci Hamilton, Anne Midgette, Sammy Sussman, Okke Westdorp, Scott St. John
Runtime:
94 minutes
