Posted by Brian Frederiksen on June 04, 2000 at 23:45:27:
In Reply to: Arnold Jacobs Poll posted by anonymous on June 04, 2000 at 10:28:29:
OK, I'm one of those who just got back from ITEC.
There are those who are great natural musicians no matter what instrument they play - this shines out among a crowd. In the tuba world, Arnold Jacobs and John Fletcher were among those naturals. Cream rises to the top but an audition committee has to realize it. Yes, there are political things going on, maybe someone is trying to fix things for someone (like this doesn't go on). Mr Jacobs stated that with great numbers of those auditioning, the best player may not get the job as they are more interested in weeding out people. Politically, anyone can not get a job.
So would he get the gig? In a fair audition his natural musicianship would show through and he probably would.
Now for a what if - with natural musical ability, what if Mr Jacobs never switched from the trumpet? Would he have had as much an impact on the brass world? Now that's a can of worms!