Pittsburgh

Thomas Maurice Booth · Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:32 pm

Any news from today's round(s)?

TMB

Tom Haggerty · Post by **Tom Haggerty** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:21 pm

tubalex · Post by **tubalex** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:57 pm

the semi-finalists today were:

Craig Sutherland
Dave Saltzman
James Hicks
Tim Royster
Alex Lapins

none were advanced to the finals.

Jarrod · Post by **Jarrod** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:11 am

nobody advanced, so they decided to offer the job to Royce!!!

james · Post by **james** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:05 am

that list of semi's for Monday is 100% correct( No Royce, though). They also did not advance anyone to the finals from Tuesday out of 4 semifinalists, I believe. Maybe Wednesday is the charm.

Tom Eshelman · Post by **Tom Eshelman** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:47 pm

Only one tubist was advanced to the semi's - Kent Eshelman. He played with the trombone section, but did not advance.

(congrats anyway !)

CJBlaha · Post by **CJBlaha** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:53 am

Apparently, there are 5 (possibly?) persons who have been 'auto-advanced' to play only next Thursday. These persons are known commodities to the Pittssburgh Symphony..... substitutes and friends of the trombones.
I cannot say if the past 3 days were simply a formality to get to these individuals, or if it really is true that everyone that played is not nearly as ideal as these players are.
Time will tell.

danB · Post by **danB** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:02 pm

Ok,

Lets stop the conspiracy theories before Mulder and Scully are called in. Bottom line is that what a tuba player needs to do behind the screen is completely different than what they need to do on the job. What the comittee hears when a huge tuba is alone in a huge hall is completely different than the perceptions of said tubist when playing with the section. Clarity, dynamics and intonation seem to be what's keeping us out of semis and finals. Musicality isn't percieved when these mistakes are made. It's time we took a listen to a recording of ourselves and realised how we as an instrument are being perceived. Maybe we'd audition better and quit gripping.

As far as the five who have been advanced to the finals? THEY"VE EARNED IT. From time well spent practicing and playing great with orchestras. Is the system "fair"? No, but only according to those who haven't caught a break. If you want to make it in this business don't expect any hand outs. The 5 advanced to the finals earned their luck over time and were not best friends with the members of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Are there politics in this system? Yes. Deal with it. Accept it. Move on to either a practice room or think a little harder before you drop money on a plane ticket.

A big congrats to those who advanced to the semis and good luck to those in the finals next week.

Dan

Jarrod · Post by **Jarrod** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:47 pm

I agree with Dan. There is always going to be human error/partiality involved. If I had a job in an orchestra and my friend who was a fantastic bass trombone player didn't have a job, I would absolutely want to see him do well if he was qualified. I don't mean to stir the pot, but who wouldn't feel that way if they were actually in that position?

Something I realize though, is that if I always play well and act like an adult when I'm with other musicians, people are going to be "rooting" for me behind the screen at some point. Dan is right, "fair" is not a viable statement, because MANY people are qualified for the job. Play your best, be humble, and see what the Lord brings to you.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:25 pm

I actually think that orchestras should just be able to offer the job to specific person if they know that person and would be happy with them. But...

What isn't right is holding an audition knowing before hand that you are not going to offer the job to any of the auditionees. I hope that is not what happened in Pittsburgh.

rodmathews · Post by **rodmathews** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:08 pm

Sitting through auditions is a pretty tedious experience, and I'm very certain that the committee in Pittsburgh wasn't just going through the motions. They, like any other committee, really want to hire someone and move on.

I tend to think of this in business terms. If the CEO of a large company decides to leave, there isn't an open interview process for everyone who thinks they are qualified. The search committee identifies qualified candidates, often with the help of a search firm, and then they pick the person they think is best for the job. For some reason I don't understand, in the music world a good number of players seem to think they are entitled to a hearing. We aren't. At the risk of offending a few people, it seems that the folks who are typically complaining about not being heard (or about the orchestra not hiring someone) usually have no chance of getting the job in the first place.

Also, because I know one of the responses is probably going to say something about the union protecting its members, this isn't a union issue. Orchestras run under collective bargaining agreements, which are negotiated between the musicians (represented by the union) and the orchestra's board of directors. Each orchestra is free to determine their own audition procedures under the CBA as long as they don't violate any employment laws (discrimination, etc.). There is usually a union oversight over the agreed upon process to make sure the audition is executed according to the CBA, but the musicians union can't dictate that an orchestra has to listen to any of us. It just doesn't work that way.

At the end of the day, orchestras hire who they think is the best person for the job, and committees really do want to find that person as quickly as possible.

Rod

Kutz · Post by **Kutz** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 6:19 am

Just for some clarification; As I understand it there are 5 players that will be playing next week at the PSO audition. There are indeed known to the members as they have at some point played with the orchestra or with members in other orchestras BUT, these players will be playing a Semi-Final Round first (they also had the option to play this week) before any finalists (if there are any) emerge.
The PSO truly wishes to hire someone and I don't see much conspiracy at this. Unfortunately (for myself as well), they just didn't hear what the MAJORITY wanted in the 1st round.
Cheers,
David Kutz

CJBlaha · Post by **CJBlaha** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:05 am

Well, I wish the very best of luck to the individuals who still have an opportunity to win this job. What I am hoping for, is that our community is not subjected to 2 straight auditions with no winner. It does make one wonder about the audition process (how it can be improved) and how we prepare for auditions. Granted, these processes are always developing and improving, and does show how remarkable it is when someone does win a major orchestra job, not to mention 3 in a row....
C

Jarrod · Post by **Jarrod** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:14 pm

That is a great observation, CJBlaha. The fantastic consistency that Steve Campbell and Alan Baer have shown over the past few years (and others as well) does prove that it isn't merely a problem with the procedure. No matter the procedure these guys seemed to make the committee happy time and again. It can be done, we should all be looking in the mirror instead of behind the screen.

Also, anyone know who the 5 remaining candidates are?

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that info is correct

Wednesday Result

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