Two musicians who were part of the orchestra for a Sydney performance of La La Land in Concert last month have contradicted the viral story that a pianist fell ill, alleging instead that the keyboardist left due to tensions with composer Justin Hurwitz during rehearsals.
Different version of events
During the intermission of the concert at Darling Harbour Theatre on 30 May, Hurwitz appealed to the 2,000-strong crowd for an “amazing sight-reader”, saying one of his two keyboardists had fallen ill. An audience member, 21-year-old university student Sterling Nasa, stepped forward and took his place on stage, generating global headlines as a feelgood story.
But two orchestra members have now told the Guardian that the keyboardist left after what they described as unreasonable treatment by Hurwitz, who allegedly remarked that Australia must have different musical notation than the rest of the world. One source claimed the percussion and keyboard sections were singled out.
“It may have been a nice sort of feelgood kind of moment, but it did not reflect the mood behind the scenes,” one musician said.
Rehearsal tensions and backstage scramble
The musicians said Hurwitz had poor communication with the orchestra and was “just expecting everything was going to be 100%, which is never the case for a rehearsal”. One noted that rehearsals are meant for working on things. They also said George Ellis, who contracted the musicians, was critical of both keyboardists less than an hour before the concert, allegedly telling them to play a section again “without the wrong notes” and asking, “What are you doing? What are you going to do tonight?”
During the extended intermission, there was a scramble on mobile phones to find a replacement keyboardist, but no one among the orchestra appeared willing or able to volunteer. Guardian Australia has been unable to reach Nasa for comment.
Workplace inquiry launched
At least nine musicians who played in the Sydney concerts are now helping the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) with a workplace inquiry about the events. “We are aware of the allegations and are supporting our members throughout the investigation process,” the MEAA said. “All arts and entertainment venues and production companies are expected to adhere to minimum workplace safety and employment standards.”
Both musicians said they stood in solidarity with the keyboardist who did not appear after the interval and were angry that the incident had been turned into a good news story that went global. “There’s a bunch of musicians out there who are just so pissed off,” one said. “[It’s been turned] into this massive marketing event that went global, that’s the thing … that’s what people are pissed off about.”
Hurwitz’s account and promoter response
In an earlier interview with Guardian Australia, Hurwitz did not refer to any issue with the keyboardist allegedly walking out. He explained his decision to appeal to the audience: “We had people saying, ‘OK, I have a friend who’s 15 minutes away, I have a friend who’s 12 minutes away.’ But I figured that nobody’s as close as they say they are. And also, by the time they would have gotten into the building and gotten settled, it would have been probably a minimum of 20 minutes … so I thought that was just too long. I just thought, well, we have 2,500 people here. Somebody has to know, you know? I just figured somebody would be a great sight-reader, so I decided to ask the audience.”
Guardian Australia contacted Hurwitz’s management, Creative Artists Agency, and Ellis for comment but received no response. The Australian tour promoter, DRW Entertainment, acknowledged “controlled chaos” when “a key member of the team was unable to perform after interval” but did not respond to claims that the pianist had walked out. “Out of respect for the artist’s privacy, it wouldn’t have been appropriate to share further details about their wellbeing with the audience on the night, or now,” the statement said.
