Posted by greg harper on September 17, 2001 at 02:47:12:
In Reply to: Colorado - what happened 1st???? posted by Steve on September 13, 2001 at 16:02:37:
I have been hearing about the "unfair" Colorado Symphony audition for months now. THe initial position was auditioned last July after our current tuba player decided to try a personell manager position. Because of the immediate nature of the openning the Personell manager, after checking with the local union put the call out to teachers, players, and friends to recommend people for a preliminary tape round which the section screened and then invited to an audition in July to fill this position.(advertising the audition takes approx three months) Aaron McCalla was offered the one year position which continued through July of this year. We weren't planning on auditioning the position permanently because we initially thought that Walt Zeschin was comming back. Walt decided not to return to his Tuba position in May causing us to stick the audition in September. AS far as the fairness of the audition, every round INCLUDING the final two rounds of section playing were done with the screen up. Along with the screen being up, the principle trbn and myself were not allowed to participate in any discussion with the committee after we went to the other side of the screen and were watched by a separate member of the Orchestra Committee as we voted to insure that the process was fair. I didn't mention the 2nd trbn player because as assistant personell manager he can't vote. Every part of this audition was to the book and the last one standing really was the winner. The screen was kept up because our orchestra keeps the screen up if we have a cantidate who has played under contract with us whether for one week or one year. For those who are upset because they didn't advance, I would be willing to share my comments to those who are interested. Winning a job often seems harder than winning an olympic medal. We often spend years practicing and trying to strive for perfection. Going through the audition process is a difficult one, one which often leaves us feeling empty and unprotected. I feel that it's in these situations when we allow our "shield" down that we can find out the most of who we are and what it is we're looking for in life. Perhaps that's a bit too Disney, however no one person or orchestra owes us anything and winning a job(or not) isn't the end of our development as musicians. I decided to spend a little time writting a note to this "Colorado Question" because I think Aaron deserve more respect than the people spending their time on this page are giving him. He may be a young face, but the level of musicianship he brings to the table is of the highest caliber which the results of this audition attest to. For those who still feel the audition was "fixed" your welcome to call up the local AMF union where the president would be more than happy to hear your concerns, or perhaps more time spent in the practice room would be a better recomendation.
Take care,
Greg Harper
Bass Trombone
Colorado Symphony Orchestra