Posted by Douglas Yeo on January 29, 2003 at 17:44:27:
In Reply to: BSO posted by Chuck jackson on January 29, 2003 at 00:32:20:
When I came home from this morning's Boston Symphony rehearsal, I found my "in" box with over 50 email messages from TubeNet folks. Nice messages from nice people. That's persuasive enough for me to stick with TubeNet for a little way and answer some questions they've asked me.
First, let me say that my earlier message was not meant as a broad brush directed at every tuba player on the planet. I thought that went without saying, but some clearly misunderstood my points. My bad if I wasn't clear. Some of my best friends are tuba players (including a new friend I made a couple of weeks ago at a Brass Festival at the Univ of Dayton, James Jenkins - a fine player and a quality person). My comments were specifically directed at those comments on TubeNet which concerned the BSO auditions, reminding those people who post gossip or hearsay that there is a cost when they do so. Posting gossip is not only potentially hurtful to individuals (not just their feelings, but even their reputations), but it isn't honest or helpful. Many people look for their 15 minutes of fame and will take it any way they can get it. The internet has made this even easier to do, with some people getting thrills because they can post the latest juicy tidbit before anyone else, never mind who gets run over in the process. Speculation is one thing, but rumor and gossip are entirely of a different cloth.
Of course there are many people who visit TubeNet who post and reply with good intentions. Such a bulletin board (or related email discussion group) can prove to be a lifeline to many people who need help and input from others. I participate regularly in the trombone-l email discussion group - both as one who has posted many messages and one who has learned from it. The difference between TubeNet and the trombone-l is that the trombone-l does not allow anonymous posts or subscriptions from people with free email service accounts. While it is not moderated, the free exchange of ideas on the trombone-l has, for the most part, an elevated level of discourse and it has a list-monitor who reminds us from time to time to stay away from gossip, personal attacks and the endless, "me, too" posts which just take up bandwidth. Trombone-l and TubeNet are two different ways to run a forum. Both have people who post politely and those who are determined to cause a fuss. That's life.
So, post away. But as others have said more eloquently than I, just think before you hit the "send" button.
A number of people have asked me to talk about what I was looking for in a player at our recent auditions. I've already done that in great detail. On my website, you can find a long article on taking professional, symphonic auditions at: http://www.yeodoug.com/yeoauditions.html
That article has appeared in several other formats as well. It began as an article for the winter 1984 T.U.B.A. Journal, based on my observations after the audition for the seat in the Baltimore Symphony vacated by Dan Brown, won by David Fedderly. It was further revised for the International Trombone Association Journal in Winter, 1987 and appeared in the International Musician in November 1992 (in a greatly abridged format). I subsequently revised and expanded it again when I posted it on my website, and included it in the book I wrote with Edward Kleinhammer, "Mastering the Trombone." It tells everything I can think to say about how to prepare for an audition and what the audition committee is looking for during an audition.
As I said in my earlier post, the workings of the BSO audition committee (and, in fact, the workings of ANY audition committee for ANY orchestra) are confidential. This is necessary to protect the privacy and reputations of those auditioning. Those who want an "inside look" at the process will find out how important this is when they serve on an audition committee themselves. My article referenced above speaks to this in some detail.
As Sean pointed out, audition committees don't "owe" answers to anyone about how they came to make their decisions. Suffice to say that any audition committee I've ever been on is interested in finding a fine player for the job. Period. I've never been on a committee where the audition was "fixed" or there was a favorite candidate. The road from auditions is littered with tales of people who thought they had it "in the bag" and went home without a contract.
It is important for people to understand, though, that when auditioning for the top level symphony orchestras, such groups are not training grounds, but they are proving grounds. People don't win auditions hoping that they will play well. They don't win auditions if they hope a certain excerpt won't be asked after a particular other excerpt has been played. Wishful thinking won't win an audition. Auditions are won by people who, with the combination of talent, hard work and destiny, prove they have something special to the sets of ears behind the curtain.
One question many people have is, "Why did it take the BSO three auditions to find a winner?" The answer is both easy and complicated and summed up this way: Because it just did. Every time a candidate walks out on stage, the silent prayer of every person on the audition committee is, "Please let this person be the one!" Committees want to hire a player. When an audition ends and the committee and/or music director can't identify a winner or can't come to agreement on a winner, everyone goes home disappointed. So you try again, hoping some candidates will "step up" the next time and prove they have that special something that will lead the committee to say, "That's the one we want!" We found that person the third time around. And now that it's over, we can say it was worth the wait.
This is not ever to say that the winner of any audition is the "best" player in the world. That's not ever ever possible to say. What it DOES say is that on a particular day, at a particular place, to a particular set of ears, a particular player proved that he had something that particular orchestra thought would suit them well. Every audition has only one winner. While every audition has many losers, most auditions have a high level of playing at the final rounds where there are good players who on any given day might win that or another position.
But there is a time to make the decision, and when the decision is made, it is made. And there is one winner. The same things still tend to win auditions: great sound, great pitch, great rhythm, great style, great musical personality. This is no secret. This is what my ears listen for when I'm on an audition committee.
In the end, though, picking a winner often comes down to intangibles. How does it FEEL to sit next to a particular person? What kind of radar is in effect? Is there a personal dynamic that just seems to fit? All things being equal between players, those kinds of intangible things come into play.
They are actually some of the most important questions since those are the things which make live music a dynamic, living thing.
It's not appropriate for me to speak about individuals who came to the Boston auditions. We heard some fine players and some not so fine ones. In the end, we chose one winner, Mike Roylance. I am thrilled to have Mike coming into the BSO. He is an excellent player, a superb musician and, from the little I know of him, a very nice guy. I am very much looking forward to the partnership we will have over the coming years, a partnership which will develop over time in what I think will be very exciting ways. I don't think there is anyone happier than I am that Mike is coming to the Boston Symphony (with the likely exception of Mike and his wife!).
David Zerkel posted some excellent comments about his experience at the BSO audition and how he prepared. Chuck Jackson did so as well. What I found so refreshing about their posts was they simply told their story - they didn't make excuses, they didn't vent that the committee was crazy for not hiring them, they didn't complain about the outcome. They told their experience and they, fine players both, will both live for another day. Their posts were classy and informative. They have given each of you a rare gift of candor and helpfulness.
The Boston Symphony tuba audition is over. A two year process has led to Mike Roylance loading up his car and a moving van and moving east to Beantown. For those who did not win the BSO audition, other auditions are on the horizon. This is an exciting time for those whose combination of talent, hard work and destiny lead them ever closer to the position they have always wanted. I wish you all well.
Douglas Yeo
Bass Trombonist, Boston Symphony Orchestra
yeo(AT)yeodoug.com
www.yeodoug.com