Judge grants peace order against BSO’s Carney
A district court judge has granted a temporary peace order against Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Jonathan Carney, according to court records.
Judge Catherine Chen ruled Monday that a peace order against Carney was enforceable after he allegedly threatened a Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra employee.
The complaint alleges that on Oct. 31 at about 8:30 p.m., Carney approached the employee in the lobby of the First English Lutheran Church in Baltimore’s Guilford neighborhood, where the Mid-Atlantic Symphony had been rehearsing. In the court documents, the woman alleged Carney verbally attacked her.
“You have a lot of nerve coming here after what you did. You had no right to say what you said, and you will be hearing from my lawyer,” Carney said, according to the peace order application. “Your teacher … will never work again, and you will never see the light of day when I’m finished. Don’t even think about coming to the concert tomorrow night. I don’t want you there. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
Chen ordered Carney not to threaten the petitioner, not to contact her, not to enter her residence, and to stay away from the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, according to court documents.
Carney has previously performed with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony.
The woman did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday by The Baltimore Sun. Neither did Carney, his attorney, Neil Ruther, or Mid-Atlantic Symphony President Jeffrey Parker. The BSO declined to comment. The order is effective through Nov. 13, when another hearing for the final peace order is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The peace order came less than two months after BSO principal oboist Katherine Needleman filed a sexual harassment complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the BSO related to Carney. Needleman’s complaint alleged that Carney retaliated against her after she rejected his advances in 2005, and that the orchestra subsequently allowed a hostile work environment.