I’d like to first extend my congratulations to Jaclyn on winning the audition. I heard she also won the 3rd horn spot with San Francisco and I’m so relieved she is dodging that bullet. (To be clear- I only say that because of how terrible the SFS management is to that poor orchestra.) No matter what round you start in, playing a fabulous audition (and likely working your behind off) is what will get you named the winner. Brava Jaclyn- you’re on a roll and we’re so pumped to see you get what you deserve!
My question, especially since someone from Minnesota Symphony was thoughtful enough to chime in, is how did Jaclyn get a one year in the first place? Was she a finalist from a previous audition? If so, did she start in semis or prelims for that audition? @Flutester
I think it is a huge foot in the door to start in finals. I certainly wouldn’t turn down an invite to finals! It seems naive to think that it’s not possible (or likely) that at least some committee members are potentially less incentivized to not advance people to finals when they’ve already voted on who’s starting in the final round. They might be less charitable or understanding towards more of the prelim & semi final candidates if they’ve put some people straight in to finals. This could also be done unconsciously as committee member’s patience begins to wear thin. Exhaustion is real!
Additionally, I think if a committee auto-advances anyone directly to finals, and then subsequently no one else advances to that final out of semis, the committee MUST screen the rest of the audition. It seems messy to me if the same committee that decides who’ll start in finals also can decide if they’ll use a screen when that committee also didn’t advance any other candidates to that final! Keeping it fully blind would also spare the winner and the committee any suspicion!
Just want to chime in how disappointing it must feel to be a super-semi or super-super semi finalist. Because of these extra semi rounds, those candidates don’t get to put this final on their resume or applications for OTHER auditions, they’re not put on the Minnesota sublist, and they’re not able to request being auto-advanced at the next Minnesota audition. I feel that these candidates truly advanced out of semis and that the committee moved the goalposts for these candidates. To me I would consider them finalists and my heart goes out to them. It’s likely the committee doesn’t think of these pointe. It’s also possible that the committee hasn’t taken a lot of auditions and/or hasn’t been on the circuit recently to know how TOTALLY unusual it is to have both a super-semi and/or a super-super semi. And, @2224 makes a really valid point about fatigue (especially for horn!)
I think it’s possible to ask these questions while not implying or assuming that anyone is undermining Jaclyn, or her successful result, in anyway. That is my intention here. It is possible to be sincerely proud and happy for her and to also ask basic questions in an effort to have an aboveboard audition process.
Industry wide, hiring and tenure processes have historically not always been fair. Candid discussion is one way to help our industry improve.
Again, cheers to Jaclyn and we wish you all the success in the world!
