One-Years??

You've flaired yourself here as "principal" so I'll assume you're employed somewhere, nevertheless I'll respond for the masses.

There's no industry-wide trend or conspiracy here. You're zoomed in on a particular instrument at a particular time when there happen to be lots of vacancies which cannot all presently be filled for the long term. Orchestras have not decided as a whole that it's better to hire musicians for one year at a time. They operate independently under the terms of their unique CBAs and under the watchful eyes of their local unions. Yes, the union is a national organization, but the locals are overseen by... locals. Sure, the ICSOM and ROPA conferences share data and strategies, but those are for the protection of musicians and preservation of our industry. I've worked for 7 salaried US orchestras either as a contract member or a sub, and each had completely different hiring practices and roster requirements. Yes, the League of American Orchestras gives administrators a platform to share ideas, some good, some bad, but ultimately the hiring process is strictly defined in each group's CBA and cannot be affected purely by the will of management.

As a matter of pure opinion, I don't believe any major orchestra in America would generally prefer to hire a one-year vs a tenure-track player. Sometimes, however, it's the best, only, or most necessary solution to a problem.

Some of those problems have been described below. Perhaps someone is on a leave of absence, a sabbatical, or disability, leaving a temporary vacancy. Perhaps someone won a job in a new orchestra and the contract requires their chair be preserved for a year in the event they are not tenured elsewhere, or perhaps the music director has elected to save that chair by choice. Perhaps someone moved up from a section chair to a title chair and left a temporary vacancy while they complete their probationary contract in the new chair. Perhaps there are numerous vacancies to fill and the orchestra does not have the resources, budgetary or otherwise, to fill all of those chairs with tenure-track players at once. Perhaps management reserves the right to delay hiring pending the resolution of a financial condition. Perhaps there is not presently a music director and one is required by contract to make tenure decisions. Perhaps someone won a job and subsequently declined to take the contract, leaving a vacancy with short notice. Perhaps there are a wealth of conflicting auditions nationwide for the same instrument at the same time, and an orchestra is not confident they'll have the opportunity to hear every interested party. Perhaps the orchestra is in a bargaining period and/or facing cuts.

The point is, there are innumerable possible explanations unique to each gig. You said this "trend" isn't good for musicians? I think it could be a lot worse. Those groups could be hiring subs by recommendation or at random with no equity or opportunity for those withou the right connections. Instead someone gets to win a year of job stability and income while someone else gets a year to recover from a surgical procedure, earn tenure in a new place, decide whether they're really ready to retire, further their education, take care of their newborn, etc... Someone gets a wealth of job experience beyond what they could hope for as an occasional sub. Someone gets to occupy a chair that is not fully vacant and to work alongside musicians they may hope to join in a permanent capacity should that chair become available for the long-term.

I don't think everything is fair and equitable in this industry, and I don't think every audition is run entirely without bias, but we can't always cry foul and point fingers when something happens that we are not entirely informed about.

There are other reasons why 1-year positions are offered.

1. A tenured player has won a position with another orchestra, and takes a 1-year leave of absence to see if they win tenure in their next job. This has happened in my orchestra. It is wonderful that players have this job security.

2. A tenured player takes a 1-year leave of absence due to injury. This has happened in my orchestra. It is wonderful that players have this job security.

These scenarios are great for musicians, and if you win a tenured position in an orchestra someday, you just may benefit from this. A single 1-year opening can set off a cascade of dominoes, whereby it looks like a "trend". Orchestras typically don't like to hire 1-year positions, and would much rather prefer the stability of a permanent player.

I agree there seems to be a lot of these lately, but don't necessarily agree it's bad for musicians. A one-year contract can be a great way for a younger player to gain a year of professional experience without the added pressure of tenure procedures and evaluations. Obviously it's a lot to ask someone to relocate their life to a different city only for a year's contract, but if the alternative is to scrape by as a freelancer or pay another year of tuition, I bet most people would take that deal.

An endless cycle of one-year appointments for the same position (due to a variety of possible reasons, like contract negotiations, tenure denials, no-hires, etc) is a more problematic scenario which I do think can be unfair to the musicians involved.

Many probable factors:

1. No or outgoing music director. Orchestras are sometimes hesitant to hire permanent musicians especially string principals or wind/brass/harp without the input of a music director to shape the makeup of the orchestra.

2. A large number of people retired over the pandemic which lead to a ton of auditions, some of which were won by people moving up from smaller orchestras. They are usually allowed a 1 year leave of absence, meaning a 1 year sub would be better than hiring a sub per week.

3. More retirements. A lot of orchestras are from the boomer generation and beginning to retire. Those that didn't retire over the pandemic are beginning to, and some choose to take a 1 year sabbatical to be sure they want to retire. Only so many auditions can be held each year when the hall is free/music director is in town.

4. Collective bargaining agreement renewals. A lot of orchestras had short term CBA's to get thru the pandemic which put openings on hold to keep down the size of an orchestra thru a time of financial uncertainty. As these contracts get long term renewals, the size of the orchestra will be definied and auditions can be held to fill permanent spots rather than temporary ones.