Milton wrote:
And finally. Every orchestra has its own style, and even the greatest player won't be hired if they don't "fit" the style and sound concept of the orchestra. Also, the music director is looking for his or her concept of sound and style.
This reminds me of the story Jeff Nelson (CanadianBrass) told at a master class. When he auditioned for (hmmm, can't remember whether it was LA or San Francisco) he spent all his preparation time thinking 'play dark', based on his assumption about the existing section's sound concept. At the end he was one of the final two, but they didn't select him. When he asked how he'd done, they said, "We love the way you play, but your sound is too dark."
It seems to me (what do I know?) that we should strive to have the full palette at our disposal, to be able to play to whatever concept is demanded by the (fill in the blank ... composer, conductor, section, hall, musical genre,...). At an audition, would the committee be impressed by someone who played with a variety of sounds (all of them musically appropriate, of course)? Wouldn't it behoove the committee to ask the candidates to play in a variety of ways, to evaluate his flexibility as well as his ability to meet their own concept?
Just curious.
Ted Durant Milwaukee, WI, USA
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