Posted by Jay Bertolet on April 22, 2001 at 10:01:09:
Okay, let's dispel some myths about orchestral audition committees:
1) It is not a high paying job. In fact, most orchestras just provide meal money. This is partially because it is also in the musicians' best interests to get the best player for the position. In any event, musicians welcome their participation in the process rather than the alternative which is to let the music director just pick whoever s/he wants.
2) Being on an audition committee isn't some responsibility that is passed around like an unwanted towel. The committee is elected by the orchestra as the group best qualified to select the right player for whatever job is open. This is a HUGE responsibility because not only do you have to select the right candidate and "inflict" that person on your colleagues (you better choose the right one!) but very often the music director will be a part of the audition process and have his own personal favorite. When that happens, and the person s/he's selected isn't the right choice as far as the musicians are concerned, then those musicians on the committee are forced to openly oppose the music director and endanger their jobs in so doing.
3) Listening to tapes is a blessing, not a curse! I don't have personal knowledge of the alleged comments attributed to Doug Yeo so I won't comment on that. However, even more uncomfortable than listening to 95 bad tapes and 5 good ones is listening to 95 bad live auditions and 5 good ones. When people make the trip to the audition, the audition committee makes every attempt to allow the player to show his/her best playing. That is also in our best interest because we are looking for the best player. Live auditions, therefore, tend to take much longer. Without tapes, there would be LOTS of wasted time and money involved in auditions, even more so than there is now. At least with the tapes, if it is immediately obvious that the applicant isn't qualified you can shut the tape off and move on right away.
Being on an audition committee is an extremely difficult and thankless job with little personal reward. Picking the right candidate can be very difficult because you never know how that person will react in the orchestra's environment. Picking the wrong player for the job is a painful mistake that lasts for at least one year. Effective audition committees are the key to improving the orchestra overall so it is also a very necessary thing that has to be done right. All these ideas are in the forefront of my mind because I'm on the audition committee for the Principal Horn audition for the FPO next month.
My opinion for what it's worth...