To test this feature, visit your live site.

Montreal viola openings--why so many?

there are 5 openings in the OSM viola section. Does anyone know how this came to be? Seems like an awful lot.

On a related note...anyone know anything about how OSM regards hiring non-Canadians? Is it even worth auditioning if you aren't a citizen or permanent resident?

5 answers0 replies

5 Comments

Odetojoyful

Mar 02, 2023

•

For sure, they do hire non-Canandians. It may seem like they mostly hire Canadians because there are much smaller number of non-Canandians that come to audition in the first place. Same situation for the violin as well. There were 5 openings since 2021, hired 1 in 2021 and still had 5 positions available in 2022. Latest audition they filled 3/5. So many positions available in the orchestra but such a few candidates being hired 🥲

2224

Mar 02, 2023

•

Replying to

Yes, I took an OSM audition once (international round) and was surprised by how few people were at the audition compared to a typical US audition, but the fact is most Americans don't want to deal with immigration. It can especially be a problem for people who are married or in a long-term relationship, as it can be hard for their partner to get work in Canada.

There is some legit "discrimination" though: OSM's CBA says that as a tie-breaker, they'll favor the candidate who resides in or studied in Quebec, or if no candidate did, the candidate who resides in/studied in Canada.

So if you think of all the auditions you've ever taken that come down to an hour+ of deliberation... just know that in the case of OSM, you basically automatically lose in that situation as an international candidate.

Anybody know if other Canadian orchestras have similar clauses? I kind of assumed it might just be a Quebec thing.