Test Musicians!

Apparently the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra is in an uproar for a number of firings of long-time players. I'm not sympathetic to the players on this one.

It seems that the rationale behind the musicians' argument is that they have played in the orchestra longest, and therefore their seniority should keep them from having to participate in yearly auditions for spots. This is ridiculous. Seniority should not guarantee a musician anything; his skill, expression, and ability should. One of the few ways to really judge that among a large orchestra is to have auditions where the conductor can hear each player individually.

Music is an intense physical and mental activity, and like in sports, audiences reward good performance and punish bad performance. Perhaps one reason the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra has not been doing so well internationally is that they don't subject their musicians to auditions and tests every now and again to insure they're keeping up their chops. Anyone who plays music knows how easy it is to fall in love with it, but "musician" is a job just like any other. There are bound to be shirkers, and we just cannot assume that some one is putting in their best when they say how big a part of their life it is.

Further I think this is a good signal that Brazil is moving more towards a meritocracy then supporting the "old boys club". It has been shown that the introduction of blind auditions increases the chances of a woman getting a spot by 50% (a pretty clear showing of sexual selection if the male conductor can see rather than just here the musician). How much more stratified was the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra before they implemented auditions rather than rewarding seniority? How many of them came from the (richer) inner city and how many from the (poorer) favela? I am very interested in learning the demographic data of this particular group over the past twenty years.

Seriously: what is the ratio of male to female musicians in the OSB from let's say just a decade, 2001 to 2011? How many more/less women were hired after the implementing of auditions?

With regards to the hinted at issue of an increase in "foreign" musicians at the OSB (which oddly enough was started by a mix of foreign immigrants and locals, so not sure why its a problem now); is the point that Brazilians can't compete musically with Europeans and Asians? 12 new immigrant musicians and 9 new Brazilian doesn't sound too bad, but maybe I'm wrong.

And in terms of cultural identity, then simply start a second group. If Brazil wants an internationally renowned orchestra, they have to rise to the highest standards in the world, and those standards do not include tenure. Maybe have two groups: one the cultural/national heritage symphony, in which case tenure, history and personal demographics can be a very beneficial thing, and one the international symphony. Boom.

Here's the last point: musicians across the world (Asia, Europe, North America) have been competing rigorously for years for top spots in the relatively few orchestras out there. To the Brazilian musicians: cowboy up, guys and gals. So you've been there for 30 years? You should be able to ace the audition. If you can't, then maybe you should do some soul searching about where you are before you blame the higher-ups. And before I get harangues for agism, I would like to ask about the dozens of young musicians who were denied that spot in the orchestra for decades not for their ineptitude or inexperience, but because the old guy sitting in that chair had been there longer. Which is more fair? Blind auditions or tenure?

Yearly auditions for orchestras are a good idea. Blind auditions are an even better one.