Re: Re: The Freeway Philly


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Posted by Rick Denney on February 06, 2002 at 15:58:11:

In Reply to: Re: The Freeway Philly posted by Bill on February 06, 2002 at 15:04:24:

Different organization set up different objectives, and their hiring practices reflect those objectives. In the county where I live, we have an amateur orchestra with a paid conductor and a few paid musicians. Most of the brass musicians are paid, and the reason is that the orchestra is run by the string players and they want professional brass musicians to make them look good. Is this moral? Of course it is--it's not a moral issue.

As to whether it reflects well on the commitment of this orchestra to the local community--that's another issue. In the case of this orchestra, however, their commitment to music-making on the local scene extends only to string playing. Their string programs are many and varied, showing a deep commitment to education and bringing up new generations of string players. But they don't carry that attitude to brass musicians, or so it seems to me from the audience.

Now, it is true that they are a better-sounding orchestra because they hire pros to fill those spots. And it is true that the pros they hire can use the money. But it is also true that there are local brass musicians who would love to play in an orchestra that are at least as good as the string players in the group who are not paid. It is how they have put their program together, and I don't hold it against them, though I might well be the local amateur who loses out because of it. (The tuba player they hired for the times I've attended is a member of this list, and there's no question of me being in his league.)

Of course, if they decided to audition local amateurs, there's a good chance that someone would drive out from The Big City and do the gig. In fact, another occasional participant in this list plays for several local orchestras (and I'm not in his league, either).

My point is the it is easy to construct a hypothetical situation where a presentation of some of the facts would make any given hiring practice seem unreasonable. But in most cases, organizations follow the approach they do because it fits in with what they are trying to achieve. Yes, it is irksome when they pay a high price for someone from The Big City because they have the resume, but "a prophet is not without honor except in his own home." The only way the local player can counter it is to glow in the dark on those occasions when he subs.

Rick "aghast that organization politics might actually be a part of hiring policies" Denney


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