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Double Bass New York Phil audition results

#24
Principal finals: Fora (Curtis, Berlin Phil)
Tim (Met Principal)
David (Juilliard, NYPhil)
Satoshi (Juilliard, NYPhil)

Fora gets Principal, David moves up to Assistant on a 1 year trial.

Section finals:

Evan Halloin (NEC, Rice)
Wan Hao (Juilliard, NYC ballet)
Richard Ryan (I.U. KC Symph)
Max Zeugner (england, BBC Phil princ)
Nate Farrington (Curtis)
Rex Surany (Curtis)
Blake Hinson (Curtis, Grand Rapids princ)

Two section spots went to Max and Blake, with Rex on a 1 year covering David Grossman's spot while he moves up to 1st stand.
 
#25
Just so you all know, in the principal finals, it was the candidate's choice whether they were playing for first chair only, or for first and/or second chair.

I don't know who chose what, (although I can conjecture), and obviously this is a moot point for Mr. Baltacigil who I look forward to hearing play and meeting.
 
#27
Amen to that, evenintheshower. I'm astounded at the talent pool today. Here's a true story, for some perspective...a friend of mine, a retired Boston Symphony bassist, auditioned for (a top 5 orchestra) back in the late 1950s. He was the only one to show up for the audition. They said to him, "Mr____, no one else is here, so you've got the job. As long as you are here, would you like to play for the committee?"
 
#28
Simandl Fan said:
Amen to that, evenintheshower. I'm astounded at the talent pool today. Here's a true story, for some perspective...a friend of mine, a retired Boston Symphony bassist, auditioned for (a top 5 orchestra) back in the late 1950s. He was the only one to show up for the audition. They said to him, "Mr____, no one else is here, so you've got the job. As long as you are here, would you like to play for the committee?"
Click to expand...


interesting that somewhere along the line, music training, the commercialization of music schools, etc changed all that! Now in lieu of 1 guy showing up, you have a hundred, really well trained people. I wonder where it all started to evolve like that, on the time line. Clearly they hadn't any idea that tastes in music would gravitate to Justin Bieber, or symphonic music would be in real trouble 60 years later....

that being said, I think-hope, that its a cycle- with regard to symphonic music.
 
#29
I'm sure that Fora was only auditioning for the principal spot- I mean, it wouldn't make any sense for him to move from section Berlin to section NY. He must have wanted to hold a principal position if he left what is arguably the best orchestra in the world. Of course, if he wouldn't have won, his current position is a decent back up :D
 
#30
How do the economics of section Berlin and 1st chair NYP actually compare? FME, Berlin is a much cheaper city, and the remuneration must be relatively comparable. Of course, NYP basically guarantees faculty at a big school in NY as well.

Mark my word, Fora and Alex Hanna are getting more student requests than they can handle right now.
 
#31
chicagodoubler said:
How do the economics of section Berlin and 1st chair NYP actually compare? FME, Berlin is a much cheaper city, and the remuneration must be relatively comparable. Of course, NYP basically guarantees faculty at a big school in NY as well.

Mark my word, Fora and Alex Hanna are getting more student requests than they can handle right now.
Click to expand...

I'm not exactly sure how the salaries compare, but as recent as 2006 the Berlin Phil made significantly less than NY Phil musicians. The most recent NY Phil contract places their base salary at somewhere are $135k a year. The principal will likely make around $150k or so in the first year. While Fora most likely won't be jumping into teaching at one of the NYC schools right away, he almost certainly will be in the next couple of years which brings in extra money.

The downside economically is that most European orchestras have much better benefits (health care, pension, etc.) then American orchestras. But, either way, the NY Phil is good pay with potential for much more in earnings
 
#37
This is a great time to post my NON WINNING captions to one of the New Yorker Cartoon Caption contests of December 2009.

My two entries:
No. 1"Hopefully, she'll get one of those New York Philharmonic bass jobs."
No. 2....."You should see them when she plays piccolo!"[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

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