Klarinet Archive - Posting 001358.txt from 1998/04

From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Re: Boston Symphony Audition procedure
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 19:29:17 -0400

>Jonathan, I was thinking that tapes were time-saving and that is certainly
>true for the applicant, as you pointed out. "Convenient" might have been a
>better term to use to describe the benefit to the orchestra's selection
>committee. You can listen to the tapes whenever it suits you.
>
>Although we know that a recorded tape isn't ideal sound-wise, the tape might
>actually remove some distractions or prejudices from the selection process.
>Imagine if the applicants' tapes were numbered and identified in no other way.
>Committe members wouldn't have a clue as to the applicant's age, gender,
>racial origin, teacher's identity, etc. The committee would be forced to
>concentrate instead on tone and musicality. In short, I wonder what would
>happen if the committee listened to the tapes BEFORE reading resumes...

This is actually a very good procedure used by many competitions around the
world.

The famous Fischoff chamber music competition comes to mind. They do
precisely this. I know because one of my string quartets that I coach was
just admitted to the semi-finals based on one of these numbered tapes!

-------------------
Jonathan Cohler
cohler@-----.net