Conductor John Eliot Gardner pulls out of future engagements after allegedly hitting a singer

LONDON (AP) — Baroque music conductor John Eliot Gardiner is pulling out of future engagements after allegedly hitting a singer who left the stage incorrectly after a performance. The conductor says he is stepping back to get specialist help. The conductor allegedly hit William Thomas after the bass singer left the podium on the wrong side during a concert last week at the Festival Berlioz in La Cote-Saint-Andre, southeastern France.