Auditioning the Audition Process

Jan 25 2007
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Tanya Ell
Tanya Ell

28-year-old cellist Tanya Ell has proven her impressive musical range and abilities, as soloist and chamber musician, on stages around the globe. Currently the youngest cellist in the Cleveland Orchestra, Ms. Ell has already performed with such notable musicians as Edgar Meyer (in Schubert's "Trout" Quintet at the Banff Centre), the Juilliard and Miró String Quartets, and Anthony Marwood of the Florestan Trio. She has appeared as soloist in the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, conducted by Lynn Harrell; last season she performed the C.P.E. Bach Double Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony, where she was Assistant Acting Principal Cellist from 2003 to 2006. Ms. Ell's concerts have taken her to Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, Barbados, and many parts of the United States and Canada.

A child of two musicians, Ms. Ell began the cello at age four, studying with Louis Potter Jr. in her native Michigan. Among the eminent musicians she worked with as a student are Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, Lynn Harrell, Richard Goode, and Robert Mann. (*see below) Ms. Ell subsequently went on to the Juilliard School in New York as a scholarship student of Aldo Parisot, receiving her Bachelor's Degree in 2000. While in New York, she performed in such prestigious venues as Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Merkin Recital Hall. In addition, she was a member of the Vaux Quartet, often representing the Juilliard School in concerts around the country. The Quartet was also chosen to perform at the school's commencement ceremony, an honor given to only one student group each year. Outside of her soloistic pursuits, Ms. Ell also gave dozens of concerts in hospitals, nursing homes and inner city schools in New York as part of her commitment to community outreach.

Ms. Ell completed her education with Shauna Rolston in Toronto, and with Richard Aaron at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received her Master's Degree in 2003. She currently resides in Cleveland with her two cats, and plays on a cello made for her in 1992 by David Burgess.

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From the candidates perspective, (and I speak not only for myself but for numerous friends who have won jobs over the past 5 years), it never feels like receiving tenure is a guarantee. The audition process is so harrowing though, that anything after that feels like it will be somehow easier. This is merely an example of the fact that playing in the orchestra tests very different skills than the audition.

From speaking to colleges, I have gathered that the tenure process is problematic for the committee simply because it becomes too personal. The decision of firing someone is too heavy for such a small group of people who are most often in close and friendly contact with the person on probation. It would to make a lot of sense to increase the number of people responsible for making such a decision. Why not allow the entire orchestra to vote a member in or out?

If more quality time was spent with each candidate prior to hiring, then the tenure process would be used more as a mode of back-up than anything else. Our current track record of most always granting tenure would make more sense under those circumstances.

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Tanya Ell
Tanya Ell

28-year-old cellist Tanya Ell has proven her impressive musical range and abilities, as soloist and chamber musician, on stages around the globe. Currently the youngest cellist in the Cleveland Orchestra, Ms. Ell has already performed with such notable musicians as Edgar Meyer (in Schubert's "Trout" Quintet at the Banff Centre), the Juilliard and Miró String Quartets, and Anthony Marwood of the Florestan Trio. She has appeared as soloist in the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, conducted by Lynn Harrell; last season she performed the C.P.E. Bach Double Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony, where she was Assistant Acting Principal Cellist from 2003 to 2006. Ms. Ell's concerts have taken her to Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, Barbados, and many parts of the United States and Canada.

A child of two musicians, Ms. Ell began the cello at age four, studying with Louis Potter Jr. in her native Michigan. Among the eminent musicians she worked with as a student are Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, Lynn Harrell, Richard Goode, and Robert Mann. (*see below) Ms. Ell subsequently went on to the Juilliard School in New York as a scholarship student of Aldo Parisot, receiving her Bachelor's Degree in 2000. While in New York, she performed in such prestigious venues as Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Merkin Recital Hall. In addition, she was a member of the Vaux Quartet, often representing the Juilliard School in concerts around the country. The Quartet was also chosen to perform at the school's commencement ceremony, an honor given to only one student group each year. Outside of her soloistic pursuits, Ms. Ell also gave dozens of concerts in hospitals, nursing homes and inner city schools in New York as part of her commitment to community outreach.

Ms. Ell completed her education with Shauna Rolston in Toronto, and with Richard Aaron at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received her Master's Degree in 2003. She currently resides in Cleveland with her two cats, and plays on a cello made for her in 1992 by David Burgess.

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