| Auditions
Auditions have been a hot topic at several of the trumpet message boards.
Playing for a committee of musicians for a position in an orchestra is, in America, a relatively recent innovation. In the past the conductor, and only the conductor, had the power to hire and fire players. Orchestra committees were unheard of, the conductor was all powerful. Year-round employment was unheard of in American symphonies, this didn't happen until the mid-sixties.
Most of the famous players of the past played an audition for one person, the conductor.
Today, there are committees that make decisions on who gets the position or not.
My first audition was for a trumpet job with a touring opera company. I did not get the job because, as the conductor said,"The South was not ready for you."
This was in 1961.
I played another audition for a major mid-western orchestra's Principal Trumpet position in the sixties. The conductor was in NYC hearing players. The MTA was on strike! I had to walk to the audition from Penn Station........thank goodness I didn't fly in, the airport is miles from the hotel. And the conductor didn't have one note of music. I played the audition from memory.
Ah.........the good old days!
Wilmer
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Be sure Brain is engaged before putting Mouthpiece in gear.
S.Suark 1951 |