Semi finals and finals with a big gap
I would like to know other people opinion on orchestras that hold semi finals and finals with like, 2 or 3 weeks in between both dates. I know it might be due to staff schedule or etc. But something tells me that it is not a coincidence the fact that those top orchestras that have many international members always hold auditions in the same week, like 2, 3 or 3 even 4 days in a roll, and orchestras with mostly US citizen musician usually hold auditions with a big gap between semifinals and finals. (I know there are exceptions, no need to mention those, please. Exceptions are not rules)
It makes almost impossible for musicians with a regular salary to afford travelling to another country twice in a month to take an audition or even get a whole month license from their jobs. I am not saying that they do that on purpose to make it difficult for international candidates to attend, but even so, it does. Would not it be just better to schedule it on following days so they are able to receive good candidates from other countries too?
No orchestra that pays less than mid six figures should be doing this. Separate rounds generally work better for people with jobs, but if you mostly hire students/freelancers, it's incredibly expensive and often financially prohibitive.