As puzzled symphony-mates looked on, Eugene police officers handcuffed the University Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster – moments after a performance in the Beall Concert Hall on Nov. 28.
It baffled his colleagues in the symphony, but 28-year-old Joseph H. Tang, a talented violinist and University graduate student, was arrested by Eugene police on charges that he defrauded dozens of violin dealers in the San Francisco area from April 2002 through December 2006.
He’s no longer concertmaster, which is the most prestigious seat in the violin section, but he has returned to concert practice, said University student Emily Cox, who is also a friend of Tang’s.
Eugene police arrested Tang on behalf of the United States Postal Inspection Service, which flew one of its inspectors to the Beall Concert Hall to assist in the arrest. To avoid disrupting the show, officers waited until after it was finished.
A grand jury indictment accuses Tang of presenting himself as a dealer who took valuable violins, violas and bows on consignment to sell them. After selling the instruments, he either wouldn’t repay the owner, would claim to have refunded them, or would send different instruments to buyers than the ones promised, court documents allege.
He was indicted in December in a Northern District of California court. Tang is charged with two counts of wire fraud and eight counts of mail fraud, as he would use the United States Postal Service to ship and receive the instruments and payments.
“It’s a different part of him that I had never seen,” said Cox, who is also in the orchestra and has replaced Tang as the concertmaster. “I’ve never seen him swindle anybody, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Cox, who is in the same social circle as Tang, said she hasn’t lost any respect for Tang and still trusts him. She said she would feel comfortable leaving her violin with him.
“He’s really charming and he talks a big talk,” she said. “He was well-liked. He still is. He’s a very confident person.”
This is Tang’s first year at the University. He’s a graduate student studying music performance.
Wayne Bennett, the University Symphony Orchestra’s Director, said Tang is a “really fine violinist.”
Bennett was off-stage and didn’t see the arrest first-hand and had no comment about the situation or its effect on the orchestra, which he said takes place in a very professional setting.
“He’s just a student in the orchestra, that’s about as far as it goes.”
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