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The Advocate

In classical music, observers often ask, “Where are the women?” Why do so few rise to become principal players, artistic directors, or internationally celebrated soloists? The answers are disturbing. 

Young musicians enter elite institutions where power is absolute and accountability is rare. Many are groomed, isolated, and abused while still children. When they speak out, they’re ignored. When they stay silent, they’re retraumatized. Too often, the only way to survive is to leave. Of the dozens of survivors Lara interviewed, fewer than half are still in music. Some can no longer even listen to it.

Dear Lara breaks the silence surrounding these stories. It is the first documentary to expose the global pattern of abuse, silence, and complicity in the classical music world. It centers survivor voices – not just as testimony, but as a force for change. It calls out the institutions that failed, and invites the audience to imagine what healing and justice could actually look like. 

The time has come to put the lives of survivors above the protection of power.