A Canadian clarinetist was selected for a highly competitive music scholarship but his life changed when his girlfriend turned down the opportunity on his behalf Man Sues Girlfriend After She Posed as Him and Sabotaged His Prestigious Music Scholarship A Canadian clarinetist was selected for a highly competitive music scholarship in Los Angeles but his life changed when his girlfriend turned down the opportunity without him knowing. Eric Abramovitz was one of the top clarinetists in Canada when he applied for a two-year scholarship at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. The scholarship would have included tuition, room and board as well as money for food and expenses and was worth about $50,000, according to the Montreal Gazette. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Abramovitz auditioned for Yehuda Gilad, a prestigious clarinetist at the conservatory, and was one of just two students chosen to study under him – which would have almost guaranteed him a high paying seat on almost any symphony in the country. Gilad sent Abramovitz an email to personally to tell him the good news, but as the court heard, he never received it as his live-in girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lee, deleted it without his knowledge. Lee posed as her boyfriend, setting up a fake email address and refusing the offer. She then sent an email pretending to be her boyfriend’s potential mentor saying he hadn’t received a scholarship at the conservatory, according to the publication. Instead, she claimed the University of Southern California had offered him a $5,000 scholarship, which at the time, he could not afford to take as he needed a full ride, the Montreal Gazette reported. Without the scholarship he hoped for, Abramovitz stayed at McGill University in Canada, where his girlfriend was also enrolled. After completing his studies, Abramovitz opted to delay embarking on his career to do a two-year extension program at the University of Southern California, where Gilad taught part-time, the outlet reported. This was not on scholarship and cost the young musician $50,000. He sued Lee two years after she had deleted the email and asked for $300,000 in general damages. Since losing his full scholarship at Colburn he has worked at the Santa Barbara Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. A Canadian judge, Ontario Superior Court David L. Corbett added an additional $50,000 to the musician’s damages and ruled against Lee for “her despicable interference in Mr. Abramovitz’s career,” according to the Montreal Gazette. “I accept and find that Mr. Abramovitz lost a unique and prestigious education opportunity, one that would have advanced his career as a clarinetist,” Corbett wrote in his ruling, according to the outlet. “Imagine how his life would have been different if he had studied for two years under Mr. Gilad, and earned his teacher’s respect and support, requires more speculation than the law permits.” “I cannot speculate as to how high and how quickly Mr. Abramovitz’s career might have soared, but for the interference by Ms. Lee,” he continued. “But the law does recognize that the loss of a chance is a very real and compensable loss,” Corbett added. According to the Montreal Gazette, Lee never filed a notice of intent to defend herself nor did she respond to Abramovitz’s lawsuit against her.<doc-sep>A court in Ontario awarded a rising star clarinet player 350,000 Canadian dollars (around $265,000) on Wednesday after he sued his ex-girlfriend for breaking into his email and nearly torpedoing his career, the Montreal Gazette reports. Eric Abramovitz was a student at McGill University in 2014 and had applied for a scholarship to complete the last two years of his bachelor’s degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. He already had a host of prestigious accolades for his clarinet chops, including winning six first-place prizes from the Canadian Music Competition and playing as a featured soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. If awarded the scholarship, Abramovitz would have had the chance to study under Yehuda Gilad, one of the best clarinet teachers in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After auditioning before Gilad himself, Abramovitz was accepted to the program and offered the scholarship. Accepting the offer would have likely landed Abramovitz a lucrative spot in a symphony after graduation. Yet, he never saw the email from Gilad informing him of the opportunity. That’s because his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lee, allegedly saw it first. Abramovitz and Lee were both music students at McGill, and he let her use his laptop and his passwords. Afraid that he would have to move away, she used Abramovitz’s email address to reject the offer and delete the message before he had a chance to sign in. Lee also apparently created a fake email address under Gilad’s name—giladyehuda09@gmail.com—and sent Abramovitz an email incorrectly informing him that he had been rejected. The email did say that Abramovitz had won a $5,000-per-year scholarship to study at the University of Southern California, though Lee knew that would not be enough for Abramovitz to afford the tuition. Advertisement Abramovitz ended up completing his studies at McGill and later studied part time under Gilad while attending a two-year certificate program at USC. During that time, Gilad asked Abramovitz why he refused the offer, creating confusion that ultimately led to them uncovering the plot. Abramovitz later forwarded him Lee’s fake email, and Gilad said he’d never seen it. According to his interview with the National Post, Abramovitz decided to investigate and was able to break into Lee’s fake email for Gilad using one of her old passwords. Her actual email and phone number were listed in the account’s settings for password recovery. Abramovitz then discovered that she had also pulled a similar trick for his successful application to Julliard. Advertisement Advertisement By that time, Abramovitz and Lee had already split up for other reasons. He sued her for 300,000 Canadian dollars in damages for loss of educational opportunity, reputation, and two years of potential income. Ontario Superior Court judge David Corbett ruled in his favor, awarded him an additional 50,000 Canadian dollars, and wrote in the decision, “I am very frustrated that a highly talented musician like Eric was the victim of such an unthinkable, immoral act that delayed his progress and advancement as an up-and-coming young musician and delayed his embarking on a most promising career.” Lee never showed up to the trial or attempted to defend herself, and Abramovitz says he is unaware of her whereabouts, so he may be unable to collect the damages. This lawsuit serves as a good reminder to be careful with sharing passwords, even with romantic partners. This isn’t the only example of password sharing going awry. A Miami man named Jesus Echezarreta recently discovered that his ex-boyfriend was able to spy on him using his Ring device, which is a smart doorbell that has a camera built into it. He and his partner had reportedly shared the password, and even when Echezarreta tried to change it after their breakup, a security flaw allowed his ex to log in without it.<doc-sep>By the age of 20 Eric Abramovitz had become a fixture in Canada’s classical music competitions, winning radio features and solo performances for a number of orchestras. So when the young clarinetist applied for a prestigious scholarship in Los Angeles to study under a renowned music instructor, he was surprised to receive a rejection letter. It wasn’t until two years later that he discovered the rejection – sent under the name of the famed instructor – had not come from the school, but instead from his girlfriend. Fearing he would leave Montreal for the new opportunity, she sabotaged his application, all while comforting him as he struggled to make sense of the rejection. Eric Abramovitz was a promising clarinet player when he received a surprise rejection. Photograph: Handout This week, an Ontario superior court judge ruled that Abramovitz’s former girlfriend, Jennifer Lee, should pay C$375,000 ($284,000) in compensation for “despicable interference” in a critically important career opportunity. “To find out it was the person who I had trusted the most and loved, was a simultaneous stab to the back and the heart,” Abramovitz told the Guardian. In his decision on Wednesday, the justice, David Corbett, admitted it was difficult to place a dollar amount on lost opportunity: “One hears, particularly in the arts, of the ‘big breaks’ that can launch a promising artist to a stratospheric career. I cannot speculate as to how high and how quickly Mr Abramovitz’s career might have soared, but for the interference by Ms Lee.” He reached his final amount after examining forfeited tuition costs, living expenses and depressed earning power. Lee did not defend the claim against her. In 2014, Abramovitz and Lee met at McGill’s Schulich School of Music in Montreal, where the two students formed a romantic relationship. Abramovitz soon moved in with Lee, and trusted her with the password to his email account, according to court documents. Abramovitz applied for a highly selective scholarship that would allow him to complete the final two years of his undergraduate degree in Los Angeles. Winning the scholarship would not only fund the $51,000 tuition and living expenses at the prestigious Colburn Conservatory of Music, but would also let him study under Yehuda Gilad, an instructor Corbett called “one of the best clarinet teachers in the world”. Each year, Gilad only accepts two students from around the world. To find out it was the person who I had trusted the most was a simultaneous stab to the back and the heart Eric Abramovitz When the Colburn Conservatory of Music emailed to congratulate him on his acceptance to the program, Abramovitz never received the email. Without his knowledge, Lee intercepted the correspondence after monitoring incoming emails. Fearing that her boyfriend would leave Montreal, she sent a reply in his name – and declined the school’s offer. In order to maintain an illusion of credibility, Lee then created a fraudulent email account in Gilad’s name –giladyehuda09@gmail.com – and sent an email to Abramovitz, telling him that while he had not received a spot in the selective program, he had could still receive a much smaller scholarship of $5,000. Lee knew that Abramovitz would not be able to afford the hefty tuition costs fees nor the cost of living in California. “It was a very crushing feeling. I was so driven and really wanted it. I was very disappointed about it and feeling down after I got the rejection,” said Abramovitz. It wasn’t until months later, in a separate audition with Gilad, where both student and teacher each asked why the other had rejected them, that the ruse slowly became evident. In May 2016, nearly two years after the rejection, Abramovitz and his friend tried an old password of Lee’s on the email account, which Gilad confirmed didn’t belong to him. Upon successfully gaining access, they discovered the recovery email and phone number belonged to Lee. The couple had parted ways in 2014, but when confronted with the evidence, she denied the allegations. In a sworn affidavit, Gilad said that Abramovitz had been “robbed of his opportunity to study with me” and called Lee’s actions “unthinkable” and “immoral”. Abramovitz eventually had the opportunity to study under Gilad at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, through a separate program that didn’t have funding from the school – nor the prestige of acceptance into the original program. In 2018, he joined the Nashville Symphony. “Obviously, it’s a regrettable situation,” said Abramovitz. “But I still think that preparing as seriously and working hard elevated my level and improved my game. So it still wasn’t all lost.”<doc-sep>
A McGill University music student won $350,000 Canadian dollars ($267,000 USD) after his former girlfriend tampered with his music school acceptance email, the Montreal Gazette reported. Eric Abramovitz, the musician, had been accepted in 2014 to study with Yehuda Gilad, one of the best clarinetists in the world, in Los Angeles, almost 5,000 miles away from his girlfriend. Abramovitz sued for $300,000 in Canadian dollars, and the courts awarded him an additional $50,000. The Montreal Gazette reported today on a scheme that sounds like a soap opera storyline. Eric Abramovitz was one of Canada's most promising young clarinetists. In 2014, as a student at Canada's prestigious McGill University, he was interviewing to complete his bachelor's degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Admission would have meant two years of free tuition and room and board — equal to $100,000 Canadian dollars. And he would study with Yehuda Gilad, one of the world's best clarinet teachers. "To be chosen is virtually a guarantee of a high-paying symphony career directly out of college," wrote the Montreal Gazette. Abramovitz got in. But he didn't learn about that until two years later. That's because Jennifer Lee, his girlfriend of five months, emailed Colburn from Abramovitz's account rejecting the offer and deleted the admissions email. The Montreal Gazette reports Lee was scared her relationship with Abramovitz would end if he moved 5,000 miles away to Los Angeles. Lee then made an email account in Gilad's name: giladyehuda09@gmail.com. Writing as Gilad, Lee said Abramovitz hadn't been accepted, but he would be able to study at the University of Southern California. And Lee knew the tuition at USC was out of her boyfriend's price range. Abramovitz believed it all, and he ultimately stayed at McGill for his bachelor's degree. Two years later, the clarinetist learned of what his ex-girlfriend did. He sued for $300,000 in Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $267,000 in US dollars, for damages including loss of reputation, loss of educational opportunity, and loss of two years of income potential. The Ontario Superior Court ultimately awarded Abramovitz $350,000 in Canadian dollars. The court awarded him the additional $50,000 for Lee's "despicable interference in Mr. Abramovitz's career." Ambramovitz is now the assistant principal clarinet at the Nashville Symphony. And Lee never showed up to court or responded to the statement of claim against her. David L. Corbett, a justice at the Superior Court in Ontario, wrote that Lee destroyed his career in a way that was "difficult to quantify." "Imagining how his life would have been different if he had studied for two years under Mr. Gilad, and earned his teacher's respect and support, requires more speculation than the law permits," Corbett wrote in his decision. "One hears … of the 'big breaks' that can launch a promising artist to a stratospheric career." Read the original article at the Montreal Gazette.