As I mentioned a few weeks back, things were bound to be a little on the dead side this month here on the blog, due to various commitments, projects, and heavy practice schedules that Sarah and I are experiencing just at the moment. It’s probably obvious at this point that this week is when everything came to a head, and I just haven’t had a spare moment to even think about blogging.
The primary thing consuming my time at the moment is the seemingly endless preparation process for the viola auditions the Minnesota Orchestra is holding this weekend, stretching into next Monday. (We have a leadership, or “titled” position open, so several of us in the section are participating.) And even though it’s only 8am right now, I’m already behind on my practicing for today, so I don’t really have time to give you a long blow-by-blow account of how we get ready for these things. (Also, I’m already pretty sure I’ve jinxed the whole enterprise just by telling you I’m taking part in it, but whatever. Jinxes are for wimps.)
Fortunately, I actually wrote a long blog post about the terror of the orchestral audition a couple of years back – it’s over here, and involves a violin audition that resulted in the hire of the outstanding Rebecca Corruccini. (I think, anyway. We had a couple of violin auditions that spring, and my memory is hazy…)
(By the way, if you want to get a sense of just how angry and bitter the music world can make some people, check out the comments on that old post…)
Good luck to all involved, and I hope you continue to get along after the decision is made! A question, which can be deferred until you are less busy:
How do selection committees balance the general quality of playing vs. solo ability vs. leadership qualities vs. whatever else that matters in the job description? I can imagine that this mix is especially complicated for the concertmaster job.
The short answer is that they generally argue a lot. I’ll try to find time to seek out a fuller reply next week…