In the November union paper there is a short blurb about their new CBA which includes this paragraph: "Audition improvements include redacting names from resumes and recordings, and keeping screens up through all audition rounds. In addition, with the exception of the concertmaster position, the music director may not hire without holding an audition before the committee." The blurb also notes the entire negotiating committee was made up of female section string players. It's refreshing to hear that Cleveland seems to be finally moving on from the bad old days.

Ryan Little passed his trial and will take this position in the fall. This leaves vacant the Cincinnati associate position he won earlier this spring.

I just saw some discussion recently of how much diversity and equity have increased in the television world (amongst writers, production staff, etc.) since internships have largely transitioned from unpaid to paid (just within the last decade or so!) Only hiring from a pool of people who can afford to gain experience with little/no compensation is obviously problematic. There are significant similarities to be drawn between the difficulties of "breaking in" in both TV and classical music. What can be done to improve the "paid internship" situation in the classical music world? Just spit-balling/food for thought: 1) Festivals - there's such a divide between student festivals and professional festivals. Places like Grand Tetons or Grant Park operate like ordinary pro orchestras, where members come back year after year. Institutions like TMC, NRO, and Music Academy audition new participants every year and have age limits more like an internship, but are unpaid. There seems to be a gap in the middle. Could/should the top student festivals start offering compensation to attract more emerging professionals (and thereby afford fewer opportunities to younger students)? Or should some pro festivals leave specific seats open to be auditioned to fellowship/intern players each summer? Britt Festival seems to be an example currently occupying something of a middle ground, but I get the impression they're aspiring to just be another pro festival, and are only currently providing such regular audition opportunities because they're not in a place financially yet to retain pro players as they advance in their careers. 2) 1-years - These are currently one of the most reliable bridges for players fresh out of school to gain experience, pay for audition expenses, and transition into professional careers... but contracts are often offered in a way that seems arbitrary, and fuels a lot of resentment and perceptions of unfair auditions (see: Rochester trumpet thread). There's no real substitute for that kind of financial base and consistent on-the-job experience, so figuring out system for distributing those opportunities that people can feel good about would be a huge deal. Academy positions with various orchestras in Europe seem to be a great form of building these kinds of "internship" opportunities into the institutional structure, rather than having them merely be the byproduct of vacancies and back-logged audition scheduling. Should US orchestras be mimicking that approach? 3) Training orchestras - New World seems like a promising model for this, but New World was able to exploit the fact that Miami (a large and wealthy city) didn't have its own full-time orchestra. A training orchestra can't really compete for funding in the same city as a major orchestra. Even with the massive population and wealth of New York City, Ensemble Connect only funds meager stipends for a dozen or so people. I'm not sure what TON's funding situation is, or whether it's sustainable/repeatable. In the absence of these formalized "internship" structures for bridging the gap from student to professional, people are left to their own devices in the freelance world. And this is where a lot of people with family wealth and privilege can weather some sparse months or years and come out the other side with a great career, but our industry loses out on tons of extremely capable musicians simply because they were born to less wealthy parents.

I heard that Billy Loveless won this audition, congrats to him!

Blaine Dodson won this position last week.

Christy Klenke was offered the position, and Evan Geiger was designated the runner-up.

I’ve heard that three people were advanced to trials

Michael *** won this audition today Edit: I guess his last name is too profane to be shared with this forum and must be censored (C o x)

Kai Rocke just won contra/utility bassoon with the Oregon Symphony. He has been in that same position since last fall on temporary contracts.

Shame on this committee for wasting the time and money of multiple over-qualified candidates. Just ridiculous.

I heard Julia Pyke won this position - congrats to her!

Two candidates were offered trials for Philly afaik. News from Montreal 3rd or New York Phil principal? NYPhil has already had two (or three?) no hires so if this was another one I don’t know who they think they’re waiting for…