Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Principal Tuba Opening

[Philip J Fry]

Anyone know which excerpts were asked?
thanks

[Ken Herrick]

Hey, Cam
Ows bout I borrow your axe an practice til they do it all over again?

Issues with appointments - like when the job was not even advertised for a year while Vinnie got to make the switch from Eupho to the steroid version - the orchestras Boosey Imp Eb then when he "won"the job it was on the basis of swapping with Brisbane to get John W.??

[Alex C]

Did they invite anyone whose first name is Gene?

I don't think they pay enough to invite someone whose first name is Gene.

...which is not to disparage the MSO salary. Surely the person inferred couldn't be moved out of his present position unless the salary were truly astronomical.

[S.G.F.]

Hi all, the orchestra isn't head hunting, but they do have a very clear idea of what they're after.

The previous principal is one of the most respected musicians (not just amongst tuba or brass players) in the city (and indeed the country). Whilst it may appear that they are making things difficult for all of us mortals, why should they make things difficult for themselves? In much the same way that the competition at an audition is the person that we are trying to replace, they are also trying to find a musician of equal or greater ability to uphold their orchestras standards. The pay may be attractive, (made even more so by other employment opportunities) and the living conditions are fantastic (especially with this much money), but the fact remains that for this country's oldest and most tradition-based orchestra, they will be happy to take as long as it takes. A little bit more research and deep thinking would reveal a side benefit that I'm not going to mention here, but this position has a career satisfaction factor that only comes along once in a generation.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the successful candidate would enjoy the full support and responsibilities that come after the level of respect that the panel is paying to the audition process.

Good luck to both the orchestra and all future applicants.

Sorry for standing on the soap-box,

S.G.F.

[Ken Herrick]

Hi all, the orchestra isn't head hunting, but they do have a very clear idea of what they're after.

The previous principal is one of the most respected musicians (not just amongst tuba or brass players) in the city (and indeed the country). Whilst it may appear that they are making things difficult for all of us mortals, why should they make things difficult for themselves? In much the same way that the competition at an audition is the person that we are trying to replace, they are also trying to find a musician of equal or greater ability to uphold their orchestras standards. The pay may be attractive, (made even more so by other employment opportunities) and the living conditions are fantastic (especially with this much money), but the fact remains that for this country's oldest and most tradition-based orchestra, they will be happy to take as long as it takes. A little bit more research and deep thinking would reveal a side benefit that I'm not going to mention here, but this position has a career satisfaction factor that only comes along once in a generation.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the successful candidate would enjoy the full support and responsibilities that come after the level of respect that the panel is paying to the audition process.

Good luck to both the orchestra and all future applicants.

Sorry for standing on the soap-box,

S.G.F.

VERY well put!!!

A lot of people in the US etc would not believe the standard of orchestras here. The MSO has proven on its world tours that it can hold its own with the best anywhere.

Any tubist who wants a very good position in a top quality orchestra in a city with a great life style should practice very hard and hope this job is re advertised. Imagine living is a city of close to 3 million where you don't have to carry a gun to go shopping, where you can afford to have that place in the country and still commute to work, ski in winter, hit the beach in summer and enjoy some of the worlds finest wine and beer. AND - you can do your job, earning a very good living wage, and still have time to follow other pursuits.

No need to say "sorry" for passing on "the facts" about this position.

Oh yes, Cameron Brook is filling in for a bit and could probably give everybody "the lowdown"on this position.

[Steve Marcus]

I have been off of TubeNet for a number of days. But I can hardly believe that there was no mention here of what was posted on Facebook nearly a day ago:

Congratulations to Tim Buzbee, who won the audition for Principal Tuba of the Melbourne Symphony!

Unless there's a local hot shot, most likely a student of Tim's, who is good enough to take Tim's place in his current position, someone else will need to learn how to speak Icelandic...

[josh_kaprun]

I guess this means that the Icelandic Symphony principal trombone spot will also be opening up.

[UDELBR]

Congratulations to Tim Buzbee, who won the audition for Principal Tuba of the Melbourne Symphony!

Interesting, only in that they'd planned on holding a 9 month trial before awarding the job.

[cambrook]

I'm not sure what you're referring to UncleBeer?

[UDELBR]

One of the advertised requirements was an extended trial: up to 9 months. Guess that got waived...

[cambrook]

No it wasn't waived. Tim won the job subject to the successful completion of a trial period - if he passes that then he will fully have the job.

Maybe this is called different things in different countries; tenure, probation period etc.
Different orchestras have different requirements, sometimes this is as long as 2 years.

Cheers

Cam

[UDELBR]

Maybe this is called different things in different countries; tenure, probation period etc.

To misquote Shaw, Australia and America are apparently "two countries separated by a common language".

[Steve Marcus]

The "tenure/probation" subject is a good point.

For example, it had initially been announced (with some fanfare, given the age and gender factors) that Carol Jantsch was appointed Principal Tuba of the Philadelphia Orchestra (in 2006?). But no PR mentioned that she did, in fact, have a year of scrutiny before she was officially granted tenure. Of course, she came through that with flying colors.

[taipeituba]

Congratulations to Tim Buzbee, who won the audition for Principal Tuba of the Melbourne Symphony!

I agree!! The MSO is a great orchestra and any tubist who wins the position deserves recognition.

I've been out of the loop for a good while, hence, a fairly basic question. Was Fabian Russel the last to hold the principle tuba position? Or has someone been and gone since Fabian left?

Whilst I'm asking Qs about MSO tubists...can anyone tell me what Fabian Russel and Peter Sykes are up to these days? I really enjoyed hearing both of them perform.

[Dave2ba]

Congrats Tim!!!

Dave Saltzman

[hugechunkofmetal]

Congratulations to Tim Buzbee, who won the audition for Principal Tuba of the Melbourne Symphony!

I agree!! The MSO is a great orchestra and any tubist who wins the position deserves recognition.

I've been out of the loop for a good while, hence, a fairly basic question. Was Fabian Russel the last to hold the principle tuba position? Or has someone been and gone since Fabian left?

Whilst I'm asking Qs about MSO tubists...can anyone tell me what Fabian Russel and Peter Sykes are up to these days? I really enjoyed hearing both of them perform.

Fabian Russel is now conducting the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, and Peter Sykes is the conductor for the Hawthorn Brass Band I believe.

[taipeituba]

Peter Sykes is the conductor for the Hawthorn Brass Band I believe.

Yes, your right....there's a blurb about him on the Hawthorn BB site.

http://www.hawthornband.org.au/md.htm

He must have been pretty well jack of the music scene to give it all alway and move to Aussie Home loans. It's good to see he's back into music.

I think he used to have a Yorkbrunner. Whatever it was it sounded great. I wonder if he's still got it?

[cambrook]

He sold it to Skip Gray a long time ago - I think he still has it