Hags888

So, I just finished taking the 2nd trumpet audition with the Boise Philharmonic today. This orchestra is a smaller regional symphony whose position is salaried at $14,700.00 minimum (123 services) with a medical/dental/life insurance benefits package. The cost of living in Boise, Idaho is such that one could make a living supplementing this income with freelancing and teaching in the greater Boise area (population of 500,000). They brag on their website about being a top notch orchestra with members from Juilliard, the San Francisco Conservatory, etc. They clearly *want* to be a professional orchestra.

I’ll get right to the point though, this was the worst, most unprofessional audition I have ever taken. Granted, I’ve only taken a handful of auditions up to now, but considering the auditions with the President’s Own Marine Band, Buffalo Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony and the Toledo Symphony were very well run, I think I have a standard with which to make a judgment call here. This audition was so poorly run I will definitely be looking to the union to see if they can investigate what is likely a case of violating union regulations. This audition was every audition nightmare you could have...only it was real.

I feel cheated that I even spent the money on a plane ticket to take the audition. I regret wasting my time on a low-salary job like this when the audition process was run so poorly. I should preface by saying that, yes, I did not advance. But I know full-well that I made a glaring and unforgivable mistake in the Shostakovitch excerpt. I’m not upset that I didn’t advance, because my playing was not where it should have been today. I will continue to practice, improve and do better next time. But, I am still upset at the way the audition was run. Consider the following, and be warned…never take an audition with the Boise Philharmonic.

1. The order of auditionees was not decided by random choosing (which has been customary at every audition I’ve taken thus far). In the email confirmation I received from the personnel manager on September 5th, she said the following, “Please check in by 12:30pm upstairs at the academy and we can draw for placement at that time.” There was no drawing…the order was decided on a “first come first serve” basis. I showed up early, which meant I auditioned early rather than having an equal chance as everyone else at being first, last, etc. This seemed slightly unfair to me.

2. There were no assigned warm-up spaces. There were practice rooms in the basement, but it was a free-for-all to find space to warm-up. Since they were doing both the clarinet and trumpet auditions on the same day, there were literally no available rooms to warm-up when I arrived. Eventually when the clarinet auditions were over, rooms became available…but shouldn’t they have had assigned warm-up spaces?

3. No advance notice was given to any of the candidates as to when the auditions would start, or when it was their turn to audition. After the clarinets had finished, the personnel manager came out and said that it was time to start the trumpet auditions, asked who was “#1” and asked them to please come in and audition. They did not give that person a chance to warm-up, or give them any prior notification. They simply had to walk in cold. This meant that I had about 10 minutes to find a room and warm-up before it was my time to audition. Had it been announced earlier that the auditions would be starting “soon”, I would have known to go find a room…

4. They never “officially” announced who advanced from the first group. I stood around for almost an hour after I had auditioned talking with an old friend who was in the 2nd group. We were waiting to hear the results so that he would know how much time he might have until he needed to play. Instead, the proctor came up to us and asked where is “So-and-so” (my old friend) and told him that he was up next. I asked the proctor, “When did you announce the beginning of the second group and who advanced from the first group? I have been waiting for almost an hour to hear the results.” She replied in a snotty voice, “I announced them 15 minutes ago…where were you?” I said, “I’ve been standing right here…so if you announced them who advanced?” She replied with some name I didn’t know. Meanwhile my friend raced downstairs to try to at least blow some air through his horn before having traveled 900 miles to audition.

5. The excerpts for the first round were not given to anyone very far in advance, despite several of us asking for it repeatedly. They were announced by the personnel manager “by voice” right before the first person had to go on. Furthermore, there were errors in the list that remained uncorrected until after the first two people auditioned and the committee realized the people auditioning were playing measures they didn’t want to hear. It was only then (after two people had auditioned and played incorrect passages) that they wrote down the list and made it readily available for everyone.

6. The proctor announced people to audition by name rather than keeping it anonymous and asking for numbers. As I said earlier, she told me the name of one of the people who advanced rather than keeping it anonymous. The doors to the audition site were not sound proof, and based on how easy it was to hear the trumpet players in the audition room, it is safe to assume that the committee could hear who was being called before they went on. In general the proctor had no idea what was going on, and was completely and utterly useless. She was unable to answer any questions from any of the candidates, not because she wasn’t supposed to, but because she just didn’t have a clue (this was further confirmed through talking with one of the clarinet candidates who had dealt with her earlier in the day).

7. There were no parts on the stand in the audition room, despite the fact that most of the parts were available on rental only (Petrouchka, Bartok, Shostakovich). I used my own music, so I don’t know if it simply wasn’t available or if it was being held elsewhere as I was using my own parts. Either way there was no music, and at least one other person there verified there was no music on the stand when they auditioned as well.

8. The proctor and committee were rude. There is certainly nothing wrong with this necessarily, but considering all the rest, this is just adding insult to injury. Consider the following anecdote. One candidate (who shall remain nameless…it wasn’t me) played Shostakovich 5, 1st movement, rehearsal #27 (the march). After playing it the committee said in a rather rude tone, “Can you play that again, but this time less “pecky”?”. The candidate starting playing it again and half-way through the committee rudely yelled, “THANK-YOU” before they could finish. Obviously they wanted something different in the articulation…why not simply ask for shorter or longer?

Now, I am a member of the union, but I did not show my union card. I am wondering if there really are any audition violations here? It seems to be that the non-random distributing of audition position, and not keeping things anonymous might be violations. The rest of it is probably just annoying and not necessarily a violation. I haven’t checked the union regulations (nor do I know where they are posted). Anyway, several of us are fuming and based on the evidence above…the audition wasn’t exactly fair, and I’m hoping there is something here the union can do about it. The Boise Philharmonic ran a terrible, and unprofessional audition, and IMO, if this was any indication of what kind of ensemble they are, then they have a LONG way to go before they can all themselves a professional ensemble.

TopGun

Sorry to hear you did not have a better experience. Maybe just consider yourself lucky you did not win so you don't have to be a part of such an organization. Chalk it up to experience and win the next one my friend.

rowuk

Rant: Hags, I am not getting on your case, I have a problem with the process!

This is a real tough post for me, on the one side, the theoretical idea of auditions to anonymously choose the most talented, best suited personality and character for a job and on the other side, a lawyer (or army of lawyers) that gets involved to supposedly fix an imperfect system. At the end of the day, even if the audition is annulled - so what? A new audition is held where everything is on the surface politically correct, but the underlying personalities are the same. Is the end product really better, or have we just stroked some of the auditionees that think that they can demand a fairness that in my opinion does (can) not exist.
What appeals to me in music (and in other players, conductors and critics) is NOT objective. My choice of wife was not OBJECTIVE, the pieces that I choose to play for my next concert are chosen by my gut level feeling.
I can not imagine an audition where I could turn off my preferences and give every player an equal chance. I can warn them in advance that I am a stickler for rhythm and preparation. I can publish that the function of the first round is merely to sort out AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE the players that I do NOT want because I feel they are not ready or suitable and I am not there (or have time) to train auditions. Generally, I do not need 50 excerpts to have an opinion about some player. The first 2 or 3 minutes gives me a pretty good picture of the playing skills and style, after that the rest is an indication how well the person plays under pressure and the degree of preparation. Funny enough cracked notes are VERY useful indicators, does the players playing fall apart after a train wreck? If not, they are much less significant than the players assume!
I guess the question is: what does an orchestra with an open position OWE anybody not presently employed? My guess is nothing, just like when IBM recruits new employees, they do not need to pull there pants down and reveal the whole process. At the end of the day they have to prove that sex, religion and race had nothing to do with the decision making UNLESS there is an artificial quota established!
Rant enough. Hags, I am sorry that you didn't get any further, I have been there and can only say, it you want to play badly enough, you chalk this up to experience. If you think that the outcome can be influenced by outside intervention, go for it. Even if you get the job.........................

My bet is at the end of the day, every orchestra gets what they deserve!

tatakata

Sounds like you have sat on many audition committees Rowuk. What orchestra do you play with?

Haggs sorry for the bad time out there. Just more experience for you.

Hags888

Rowuk,

While yes, this is a "rant", please remember, I have no false conceptions about my audition. I simply didn't play well enough. Was I not given ample warm-up space and ample warm-up time? No. Was I not kept informed of the daily proceedings so that I could remain both mentally and physically prepared to audition? No. Would it have mattered if I was given all those things? We'll never know. I'd like to think that what is already a total crap shoot to begin with, might have been less so if the audition was handled more professionally. But for an orchestra to completely botch the audition process like this to the point where I even question the authenticity of it in the first place is completely uncalled for, especially in an age where dirt poor musicians spend hundreds of dollars traveling to audition for what is essentially not a livable wage.

The purpose of my rant is not to whine and try to get sympathy from everyone here. I know the game, and I know what is expected of me as an auditionee...but I also expect (demand?) some professionalism on the part of even smaller regional symphonies. My purpose in posting this incredibly long and detailed entry, is to bring this horrible experience to light in an effort to warn others of what a terrible organization the Boise Philharmonic showed themselves to be...to me at least.

Just about everyone I have ever talked to HATES the audition process, on both sides of the coin. And if my experience is any indication, it's only a matter of time before the whole system falls apart completely.

tatakata

Were you the only one not given ample warm up space etc. Or was everyone in the same leaking boat? If it was just you I would be pissed.

If everyone had to deal with the similar poor conditions...

Thank you for brining this to our attention.

Hags888

It affected those of us who were the first couple auditionees the worst. Cause for those people that went later...they simply marched down to the practice rooms until it was their time to go. However, that friend of mine who was in the second group, was not given advance notice and basically had to go in there cold. It's pretty standard to have *at least* an "on deck" room or something so you at least know when you're the next person to audition...but they didn't even have that.

pipedope

Auditions are always hard for both sides.

That is no excuse for unprofessional behaviour on either side.
The artists must show up on time with the right equipment, ready to play the requested material.

The orchestra management must have the space, materials, organization and skills to handle the process smoothly with due respect for everyone involved.

If you want to present as a professional organization with a professional staff then you must act the part in all things.
If you want to show up as a garage band, "Like Dude, You Suck." Then disorganization and confusion is not so out of line.

Then again, the way they do auditions is likely the way everything they do will go. They will end up with people who fit in that mold (sic) and it will show.

robertwhite

I posted on the TH about this too, but I should reiterate for the information of anyone who didn't see it over there that while telling the AF of M about the experience is a good idea, and they may look into what happened, it won't result in any "punishment" for the orchestra.

Robin, I'm not sure what you're talking about in terms of an audition being "annulled". I've never heard of such a thing, and I hardly think Hags's post indicated that he intended to pursue legal action. I also don't think this is a matter of political correctness. It's about the fact that Hags is a professional musician, and he was made to deal with some really unprofessional b.s. at this audition. He is right to be curious about what could be done, if anything. The sad fact is, like you said, not much can be done. In the wise words of TopGun - "chalk it up to experience".

Jhorn229h

What the heck are you talking about?


Haggs: Smaller orchestras seem to ALWAYS run their auditions worse than the bigger groups. Keep plugging away.......

J