New York Conductor and Teacher Used Sick Days to Lead Orchestra, Report Says

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Classic Arts News New York Conductor and Teacher Used Sick Days to Lead Orchestra, Report Says Dorrit Matson, the music director of the New York Scandia Symphony and a music teacher in the New York City public schools, has been accused of improperly using her sick days to conduct the ensemble, the New York Times reports.

By Ben Mattison

August 19, 2005

The accusation was in a report issued by the special commissioner of investigation for the schools. The report recommended that Matson be fired.

Matson, an expert in Scandinavian music, founded the Scandia Symphony in 1988. The group performs regularly in the Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, and has presented the American premieres of many works by lesser-known Scandinavian composers. It has recorded three CDs for the Centaur label.

According to the report, Matson took a week of sick time in November 2004. During that week, the principal of the High School for the Humanities, where she teaches, heard a live broadcast of a Scandia Symphony concert on public radio.

Matson has since gone on unpaid leave. In the report, a doctor said that she was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome brought on by the stress of her relationship with school administrators.

She did not respond to a phone message from the Times seeking comment.

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