Auditioning the Audition Process

The most important aspect of the tenure process for me is the hiring process. Take enough time and care during the audition process, don’t allow yourself to be rushed into making a quick decision, be really excited about your final choice, and tenure-granting will most likely never be a problem, no matter what system you use for probation. The root of probation is really testing (or tasting?), or trying, so if you’ve done enough of that before you hire the person, most problems are avoided. The bigger problem for me is how you keep the probing and communication going after tenure is granted. Namely, how can we get professional about job reviews in our business? How can a person be a hero when he or she is hired, hear no feedback for 30 years, and then get a non-renewal notice. What should be happening in between? Has there been a forum on this issue?

May I add some more audition thoughts, since I have been out of the loop for a couple of days? We have had some success in St. Paul with actively recruiting for the finals stage. Someone who comes highly recommended, either by people in the orchestra or by respected colleagues outside of the orchestra, are often given a week or two (or many more) of concerts with us, along with a short solo recital (open to the orchestra and management) which includes an appropriate piece of chamber music. These candidates have no higher or lower standing than candidates who have made it through the more standard audition process. We are also looking for the right player, someone with a big musical personality, someone who will challenge us, and add to the group in a big way. We definitely look for someone who will fit in, but that is certainly not the main, or the most important, criterion.

It does help us that we have an extremely sympathetic management that does not pressure us to get the job done fast. We very happily use high caliber substitutes for weeks that we cannot fill with candidates. Because of our Artistic Partners (no Music Director) setup, neither do we have a conductor pressuring us to hire a principal horn player for “his tour”.

Also, for us, we have been very happy with our results when recruiting outside of the orchestral field. People with solo or chamber music careers may not realize that they might enjoy an orchestra position, and never look at audition ads. We go and tell them about us. We don’t worry about how old they are, and we don’t care about the extent of their orchestral experience, only whether or not they are an exceptional musician.

I’m sorry that I have not been able to participate fully in this forum because of being on tour, but I look forward to reading all the postings when I get home next week. Thanks to everyone for great ideas!