NEW YORK, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A 60-year-old Manhattan violinist has sued Young Concert Artists Inc., alleging it discriminated against him because of his age.
Martin Stoner, who lost his 25-year job with the New York City Ballet, filed age-discrimination complaints with the National Endowment for the Arts and the state Office of Civil Rights, and filed a lawsuit against the organization in federal court in Manhattan, the New York Post reported.
Stoner, married and the father of two, said he has been unable to find work since losing his job in 2009.
"Unfortunately, in the classical music world, if you begin at a late age, it works against you," Stoner said.
Stoner wrote to Young Concert Artists, which offers $75,000 worth of career support and management to several winners, asking that it waive age restrictions for this year's competition. The competition seeks contestants from 19 to 26 years of age.
Stoner said he was allowed to perform with 277 others in preliminary auditions last month only after he threatened to file his lawsuit.
He didn't make it into the semifinals, and in his suit he noted that two of the three competition judges wrote "age 60" on their ballots and circled it.
In his suit, Stoner asked a Manhattan federal court to delay the semifinals until he was allowed to compete. Judge Robert Patterson Jr. refused to delay the competition, but allowed Stoner's lawsuit to go forward, the newspaper said.
