will auditions ever come back?

i read one of the most depressing things on facebook the other day. 

it was a discussion about when orchestras will return, and someone said this:

someone responded by asking him when he thinks orchestras are coming back. his response: 

this is just the saddest thought imaginable for us orchestra musicians. when i first read it i just sat there in silence for a minute thinking about my life and career. 

the problem? IT'S NOT TRUE! it's complete bullsh*t. don't believe it for a second.

look. it's hard to wake up every morning right now and feel excited about diving into the practice room. without performances or auditions on the calendar, musicians are feeling down and hopeless. it's not just you. i promise.

but you know what my students are doing right now? they are working hard, making fast gains in their playing, and generally kicking ass.

yes, there are no auditions right now (except for a couple scattered military and other auditions). but they have their eye on the ball. they know that it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN.

auditions are coming back, and SOMEbody's gotta win them.

and when auditions come back, they are going to be as cutthroat as ever. they'll be behind a screen and judges will vote for the best player of the day. 

when you get to your next audition and the proctor brings you out on stage, they're going to announce, "candidate 15." they're not going to say, "candidate 15. and this person was feeling down during the pandemic, so take it easy on them." nope. 

and that's why whoever finds a way to practice right now will have the advantage when auditions return. the people who are able to keep the faith, find a way to kick themselves into the practice room and make consistent improvement in their playing are going to be the ones who get jobs in the coming wave of audition announcements. 

the absolute #1 best thing you could do right now is change your mindset about auditions. THEY'RE COMING BACK. sooner than you think. and you don't want to open the international musician one day and see your dream job announced and realize you haven't practiced for 18 months.

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want to nail your next audition?

here’s the 5-part audition preparation method that i used to win a job in the MET orchestra.

the best part? it works for every instrument.

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so today i want to go over 4 reasons why auditions are definitely, absolutely, unquestionably coming back. 

• reason #1: the vaccine

• reason #2: passion

• reason #3: retirements

• reason #4: the union

let's start with reason #1: the vaccine.

i'll be the first to admit it: i'm not an expert in infectious diseases. i'm not even a novice. i'm just a dummy who reads some articles here and there.

but think about it. it's not that complicated. has humanity never experienced a contagious virus before? if that's the case, then we should quarantine because hepatitis A is out of control! tetanus is waiting outside your bedroom door. and don't talk to your mailman or you'll get measles! oh no!

oh wait.

we don't have to worry about those. because there's a vaccine for each of them. DUH.

by the way, my daughter lily (4 weeks old) hasn't gotten any of those vaccines yet because she's too young. stay away from her, you contagious weirdos.

coronavirus sucks, but we have an amazingly effective vaccine.

there are delays and problems and mutations and blah blah blah. but once it's widely distributed, a 95% effective vaccine will push coronavirus into the category of the flu: still there, but you can go to an orchestra concert.

AND THAT'S THE POINT. we've been playing orchestra concerts under the very minor threat of all sorts of contagious illnesses before, and we'll do it again once coronavirus is largely contained.

you're not going to have to stay in your house for the rest of your life, and you're not even going to have to wear a mask to a concert. i can't predict when, but that is absolutely what the future holds.

the pandemic will subside. and when that happens, humanity will be allowed to gather in groups again. and guess what? when that happens, slowly but surely, people will crave classical music. 

which brings me to reason #2: passion.

people are friggen crazy over classical music. i mean... i like it too. but there are people who will actually fly around the world to see a ring cycle. they'll buy season tickets to their local orchestra and actually go every single week. some people earmark their entire life savings to an orchestra to be paid upon death.

there is so much pent up passion to sit in a crowd and listen to classical music that the moment it feels safe for people to return they'll come back with a vengeance. 

(just as an aside, i feel the same way about progressive rock from the 70's. i've traveled to norway to see steve hackett, the former guitarist from genesis. i went on a themed cruise in the caribbean with my dad to see the band yes, emerson lake & palmer, and other aging rock stars. guess what? when it's safe, i'll do it again.)

and that is the basis for the return of auditions. if people have the passion to go watch live classical music, then orchestras will put on concerts. patrons will pay and orchestras will get paid. when orchestras hold concerts, they'll hire musicians. and when musicians get hired, auditions will happen.

the passion of classical music fans = more auditions. 

"but wait," you might be thinking, "maybe orchestra concerts will start again but that doesn't mean auditions are coming back and that people are going to hire me. right?"

that brings me to reason #3: retirements.

every year, around 3 or 4 musicians retire from the met orchestra. we have a party for them during intermission. it's fun! there's cake and champagne. (if anyone from the met management is reading this: that was a lie. there is no champagne during intermission. none at all.)

even if you just account for those 3-4 retirements per year in any given orchestra, that means that if auditions start this fall then there will be 2 years of spots to fill. because even though most orchestras aren't really playing, everyone is getting older and retirements are still happening.

some of you guys saw my presentation last summer about this. it's not just 3-4 people per orchestra who have left over the past year. it's crazy higher. there was this article last year saying that 15% of the met orchestra's seats would be vacated by the end of 2020. and how about this article, which lists 11 players retiring in the san francisco symphony in one year? i've heard anecdotal evidence from players in the houston symphony and los angeles philharmonic that the same thing is happening there. 

if 10-15% of all orchestra positions are vacant, that is a crazy, crazy situation.

we're about to have a complete shakeup of orchestras over the next few years. there's going to be a "pandemic class" of musicians - that is, a group of musicians who all started together right after the pandemic ended. (are you going to be part of that class?)

and here's the thing: you don't even have to believe me! it's going to happen whether or not you believe it. your only choice is whether you're going to be ready for the absolute onslaught of audition announcements that's coming.

"but ROB! you forgot a key thing! there may be open positions but orchestras are going to drag their feet and never fill those positions! everything is bad and horrible and hopeless, remember?"

and that brings us to reason #4: the union.

thank friggen god for the union.

i mean, yes. orchestra managements probably hate holding auditions. they have to spend money paying stagehands and renting space. and then when someone wins, they have to pay salary and benefits. 

i talked to a former orchestra administrator who told me that it costs $8000 to hold an audition. that's kind of a lot of money! and if an orchestra were to hold 10 or 12 auditions in a season, that adds right up, doesn't it?

it costs a lot more money to hire a full time member of an orchestra than it does to just hire substitutions. so yes: orchestra managements want to keep all those positions empty and delay auditions forever. 

but guess what? they've ALWAYS wanted that! every single time a union sits down with management to negotiate a new contract, management tries to nickel and dime every last line item on the contract. they'd love to cut your salary, reduce your pension, and thin out your health benefits. they'll try to take away your overtime and shorten your breaks. they want to send you on endless bus rides and put 6 people together in a hotel room during tours. 

but musicians stick together in solidarity. we have a UNION. and we're proud as hell of it.

and because we stick together, we have power. if an orchestra management wants to take something from us, they have to ask us for permission. 

in the contract between the met opera and the met musicians, there's a whole section called "employment of ninety musicians". that means exactly what you think it means: both sides agree that 90 full time musicians will be employed in the met orchestra. most contracts have something like that.

even if orchestra managements want to cut positions or delay auditions, they have to negotiate those terms with the musicians. auditions and the number of employed musicians is going to be one of the many things that we have to negotiate for when performances start to come back. and yes - there will be instances where musicians allow the management to temporarily delay some auditions in exchange for raising things like salary, pension, and benefits. but by and large, musicians will keep using their awesome power to maintain high standards by keeping employment numbers steady and holding auditions. 

and once audiences come back, orchestra managements will be unable to continue justifying their desire to cut positions and delay auditions. 

i love the union. power to the workers. ✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊

so what does this mean for you, exactly?

right now, you have a choice. you COULD choose to feel pessimism about the pandemic, about the orchestra industry, and about the future. you COULD let that hopelessness keep you from being productive. 

or you can see the writing on the wall. orchestra auditions are coming back. we may not know exactly when, but they are definitely coming back. and you don't want to miss out on that wave of auditions that will be announced.

here's what i want you to do right now. 

take out a 3x5 card, and get a big marker. write this on the card:

"auditions are coming back, and SOMEbody's gotta win them."

*bonus points if you write "f#&k yeah" underneath it.*

tape that card to your instrument case. or your bathroom mirror. or just tape it to your forehead and walk around all day. i don't care.

if you know in your heart that you can't be anything but an orchestra musician, this should be your guiding force from today until the end of the pandemic. 

it should inspire you to dive into personal technique projects on a daily basis. you should feel the passion to learn new excerpts and solos for future auditions. 

and above all, it should remind you that the work you do today leads to the job you win in the future. most musicians haven't touched their instruments in months. many are practicing at the lowest levels of their life. but that "pandemic class" of future audition winners are all practicing hard right now, and you don't want to miss your chance to join them. 

as for me? i'm here to support the hell out of you.

i want to provide you with the resources, the training, and the motivation to succeed. i'll do everything i can to find that small group of people who are committed to winning a job after the pandemic and i'll help them figure out how to be successful. 

is that you? cool. jump on board for some upcoming things:

on march 7th, i'll be hosting a webinar called how to win a job after the pandemic where i'll walk you through how to structure your practice now if you want to be ready this fall for the return of auditions.

on march 29th, i'll be running a free mock audition challenge to help you get back into the routine of performing. 

this summer, i'll be running an 8 week summer festival all about doing intensive mock auditions where i'll actually get you back into tip-top audition shape. 

and then this fall i'm starting a new round of rob's inner circle, my 8 month group coaching program where i'll support you through your audition journey every step of the way.

i would love to hear from you.

add a comment below or email me at hello@robknopper.com and let me know what you're practicing, whether it's a technique, a solo, an excerpt, or something else. you can ask me a question or send me your practice schedule - i'd love to see it. bonus points if you send a photo of the 3x5 card that you made. 

p.s. here's one last bit of optimism for you. it's from the same facebook thread, and it's a quote by ralph skiano, a clarinetist in the detroit symphony orchestra:

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want to nail your next audition?

here’s the 5-part audition preparation method that i used to win a job in the MET orchestra.

the best part? it works for every instrument.

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