I love this forum. It's the only place I know where you can get unofficial results of auditions but here's a thought -- has anyone considered quite possibly posting their feedback on the actual audition they attended?

How was it organized?

Was the process well planned?

Was it a pleasant experience?

Maybe even a rating system that we fellow musicians can use to help us to decide whether to attend an audition held by a particular orchestra or not would be nice.

Anyone?

I think it's a fine idea. There are orchestras notorious for horrible audition processes, and if they were called out on it, something might just change in the future.

Even more importantly, most of us who participate in the audition from the other side of the screen generally have little to no idea of what a given candidate's experience is like. If we're screwing something up or being callous or disorganized in some way that we can fix, we'd genuinely like to know about it.

I liked this idea of audition feedback. I am curious, however; Sam, do you think there are major orchestras with "horrible" audition reputations? Does this have to do with the way that they treat candidates, or the actual hiring process?

I like this idea too. Just about every musician I know visits myauditions and troll this forums. And, with myauditions having so many members, perhaps it could be used as a tool to enable change.

There are, however, a few questions that must be addressed.
1. How do you prevent abuse to insure feedback is credible?
2. Should there be a committee, panel, chair or moderator that hosts the forum for a specific orchestra so contributing members can feel their input is being taken seriously?
4. Should the orchestra be notified that such a feedback system is available and they themselves can moderate their forum?
5. Will myauditions agree to something like this to get it organized?

Sam, do you know the folks at myAuditions that perhaps you can further discuss to see how it can be done?

I haven't personally taken enough auditions to know firsthand what goes on at every major orchestra. But I do know that the same horror stories seem to crop up around a few specific "majors." Generally, it just has to do with the backstage treatment of candidates - scheduling, last-second changes in the process, a personnel manager who doesn't bother to inform candidates personally whether they've advanced or not, etc. (I took one audition several years ago at which, after a group of ten of us had played, a staffer walked into the lounge where we were waiting, wrote all our numbers, not names, on a sheet of paper, circled one, tacked it to the wall, and walked out without a word. Classy.)

As for the hiring process itself, I don't think that can actually be measured by auditioning candidates, and that is my one worry here. I would hate for an ostensibly useful feedback forum to become a clearinghouse for the sort of bitter, pie-in-the-sky conspiracy theories that seem to fly after every major audition...

Oh, and Rob, I have no inside connection to the MyAuditions staff, sorry.

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As for the hiring process itself, I don't think that can actually be measured by auditioning candidates, and that is my one worry here. I would hate for an ostensibly useful feedback forum to become a clearinghouse for the sort of bitter, pie-in-the-sky conspiracy theories that seem to fly after every major audition...

That's a tough one. Every audition has a conspiracy theory, yet a LOT of auditions have unfair auditions. It's very tough to seperate "sour grapes" from valid complaints.

I have thought about this for years. I have thought of writing a book about it or publishing a website or newsletter about it. Alas, I am not the person to do so. I am not sure it can be done, too many variables. I do know that I have seen lots of nutty auditions as a player and as a commitee member, and "fixed" auditions are 100% real. Likewise, a poorly run audition is as bad or worse than a "fixed" one. In the poorly run version, commitee members may have no clue that their own audition was unfair.

One mo thang:

I see the word "major" a lot. It shouldnt matter if an orchestra is "major" or minor or what the status is, a gig is a gig. 99% of auditions discussed here are union gigs, perhaps that could be the common demoninator. Every audition matters to the people who take them.

i was a finalist in the kansas city audition for principal last week and i've actually been dying to write about the process. i think it's important for people to hear about what went on at that audition. where would i post it ?

I contacted myauditions to find out what they can do and gave them this thread. Let's see what they can do.

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Originally posted by kaitums:
i was a finalist in the kansas city audition for principal last week and i've actually been dying to write about the process. i think it's important for people to hear about what went on at that audition. where would i post it ?

If you want to forward it to me, I'll post it on my blogs.

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That's a tough one. Every audition has a conspiracy theory, yet a LOT of auditions have unfair auditions. It's very tough to seperate "sour grapes" from valid complaints.

One thing that helps is when people put down "just the facts" and let the readers draw the conclusion of what really happened. Sometimes, people on these threads present shocking stories, followed by far-flung speculation which can either weaken their argument or unfairly misrepresent an orchestra and their practices. Stick with what actually happened, and more people will pay attention.

quote:

Originally posted by kaitums:
i was a finalist in the kansas city audition for principal last week and i've actually been dying to write about the process. i think it's important for people to hear about what went on at that audition. where would i post it ?

Members,

We've created a new forum called Audition Process. Share your experiences, the good, the not so good, its process and organization of an audition you recently participated in.

This forum will be a trial run and its continuation will be determined on member participation and feedback.

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Originally posted by RWhite:

quote:

That's a tough one. Every audition has a conspiracy theory, yet a LOT of auditions have unfair auditions. It's very tough to seperate "sour grapes" from valid complaints.

One thing that helps is when people put down "just the facts" and let the readers draw the conclusion of what really happened. Sometimes, people on these threads present shocking stories, followed by far-flung speculation which can either weaken their argument or unfairly misrepresent an orchestra and their practices. Stick with what actually happened, and more people will pay attention.

To paraphrase an old saying: "There are 3 sides to every story- yours, mine, and the truth." I am sure the winner of an audition will have a much different recollection of how an audition was run than someone who didnt win

I look forward to this trial Audition process thang. It will be interesting to see if two or more people have a general consensus on an audition.

Thanks MyAuditions for starting up the new forum. It's nice to know that you folks actually LISTEN to your members.

Hopefully, all will play nice and it will be a popular forum that will continue for a long time to come.

Kudos!