Klarinet Archive - Posting 000107.txt from 1998/04

From: peter.stoll@-----.ca
Subj: Re: very young principal cl's
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 09:57:44 -0500

Hi all,

One of my students asked if it ever happens that a very young player wins
a 1st audition, and is technically "the boss" of older, experienced
orchestral clarinetists. Of course this does happen (I remember hearing
about a flutist winning prin.flute in I think Cleveland at an age barely
into the 2O's) and it got me thinking; what do you all think of this fact
of life, versus say a situation where a young, brilliant player is started
as say Assoc.1st or 2nd, and then as others retire, moves up. Might it not
lead to real long-term tension if there's a more experienced and obviously
great Assoc.Principal (no small achievement as jobs go) in a big
orchestra, who may have been hoping to move up to the Principal job for a
while, and then is bypassed by someone potentially a lot younger? A couple
of years ago the Toronto Symphony denied tenure to a great young
percussionist who'd won the Prin.Perc.job while still a student at
Eastman, but didn't have the support of his section, or enough prof.
experience. Just wondering.

Peter Stoll
Instructor, University of Toronto