The Cleveland Orchestra hired a law firm to investigate allegations of sexual assault by its star violinist, William Preucil.
The orchestra suspended Preucil from his role as concertmaster about three weeks ago and promised an independent investigation. That was after The Washington Post published a story in which a former violin student in Miami accused Preucil of sexual assault.
On Thursday, the orchestra announced that it hired the New York-based law firm Debevoise and Plimpton to investigate Preucil's tenure at the orchestra, including the claims in the Post article. A special committee made up of three men and two women from the orchestra's Board of Trustees will oversee that investigation.
A spokeswoman for the orchestra said it's too early to say how long the investigation will take. But she said when it's finished the organization will share the key findings.
Preucil resigned as a distinguished professor of violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music last month.
