Boston Symphony has new principal flute
OrchestrasThe orchestra held auditions on Monday to choose a successor to Elizabeth Rowe, who is leaving this summer.
We understand the audition was successful and that an offer is being made to the principal flute of the nearest major East Coast orchestra. An announcement is expected within weeks.
See? the UK could have this level of vacancy filling if they simply ditched their outdate trial system.
UK process is ridiculous
He/she will have a probationary period of 1 or 2 years and will only get tenure at the end of this period. A large number of probationers are not offered tenure, particularly for principal positions and the orchestra is then back at square 1. This is, at least partly, because they don’t play in the orchestra before being offered the job. The British system can therefore identify potential problems before an offer is made. I’m not saying that the British system is perfect, but it does have its advantages.
Denial of tenure is actually quite rare in American orchestras. And it’s pretty common for audition winners – especially for principal positions – to do a trial week before a formal offer of employment is made.
The other problem with the US and European system is that the orchestra the player is leaving needs to hold their post open and therefore cannot start recruiting a successor until they know whether the player will pass their probationary period. Otherwise, no-one with financial and family commitments would dare move and the whole system would grind to a halt.
I can’t imagine that there won’t be a trial, or at least a probationary period!
All BSO Musicians undergo a tenure review process during their first year, sometimes their first two years. This form of tenure review is standard at most ensembles with a collective bargaining agreement.
Having worked for both UK & US orchestras, there are flaws in both systems, imo. In the UK, trials can extend for such a long time, it can feel impossible to fill a vacancy. But in the US, you have to take a leap of faith based on a very short audition process – some people are great at auditions and not at all suited to the section they’ll be playing in. Some super talented players don’t make it past the audition because they have a bad day. Yes, there is a probationary period, but if at the end of that (long) period the candidate does not receive tenure, you have to start the entire process again. Also, I’ve seen multiple instances where there was no selection at the end of the audition process (no one “wins” that day), so you have to repeat the whole thing. On balance, I’m not sure it’s actually any more efficient than the UK process.
Still no permanent concertmaster though……
Likely will come soon! They are in the midst of what sounds like a bit of a complicated audition process from what I heard a couple days ago from someone in the orchestra, but they are very set on choosing someone from this bunch (I believe there are around 12 violinists)
Either your source or geography is completely wrong! The offer was made to a wonderful flutist and principal of a major American orchestra, but that orchestra is not close to Boston and is not at all on the East Coast.
I was going to say that it seemed really odd Langevin would be moving at this sage of his career
Do tell…CIM ‘77 (Sharp) here. Ty!
Pittsburgh is most certainly east, definitely not coast.
Lorna McGhee of the Pittsburgh Symphony won.
Lorna never auditioned for BSO.THE audition process is a joke.Lies and nepotism are the process.There are far better players than Lorna McGhee
You need to open your ears. Lorna is one of the worlds finest players.
On the contrary. Lorna did indeed take this audition. I know people that personally saw her there, much to their surprise. And indeed, Lorna McGhee is one of the finest musicians and flutists anywhere on the planet. Also one of the most gracious and humble, a lesson you evidently have not learned.
Pittsburgh the nearest major East Coast orchestra? Do you have a globus?
The way this is written looks like you are talking about NY Phil principal flutist…. There are four major orchestras on the east coast closer than Pittsburgh where the winning flutist is actually coming from.
Overhaul the audition process.Stop giving the jobs away without audition.Lorna would not pass the audition.Stop the back office deals and nepotism
wtf is your problem with Lorna? She is one of the most wonderful orchestral flutists currently working. You sound like she didn’t sign your flute case or something.
Bitter much? You don’t play Principal Flute with major orchestras if you are not up to it, and Lorna is one of the best.