Maybe it's just me, but it seems like no-hires have become far more frequent post Covid. Does anyone collect data on this?
What if we all just stopped showing up to an orchestra that doesn't at least offer a trial?
I've been to 3 auditions in the last year alone that resulted in no-hires. Thousands of dollars and hours wasted for these. It seems like we have no recourse, outside of sitting back and taking the complete lack of respect and consideration.
Auditions are so unrelated to the ability to perform a job. Orchestras shoot themselves in the foot by not testing players in real situations.
I have a running list of orchestras I refuse to audition or work for now because of consistent no-hires. What would they do if no one applied anymore?
I can’t speak to orchestras, but I’m a member of a premier military band. We’ve had a handful of no hires since covid, and I’m not really sure what the answer truly is.
We can’t offer trials unfortunately, but it does seem like the candidate pool shrank since covid. Our numbers were down, and we had some auditions where frankly nobody sounded very good.
I would guess some people had a hard time staying motivated (totally understandable), lost their audition and section playing abilities, or left the music industry altogether.