At the end of this season, our Principal Clarinet Jimmy Gilmore will retire from the orchestra; after 41 seasons, thousands of concerts and countless miles on North Carolina’s highways and byways. The process of finding a Principal Clarinet for next season and beyond takes place this weekend.

We have advertised the position for many months and have received hundreds of inquiries concerning the position. We provide information about the position to every player who contacts us. They also receive a list of clarinet orchestral excerpts (short sections from an orchestral work that features the clarinet at that moment) as well as printed copies of all this music. This audition list is what each player will have to prepare for the live auditions taking place this weekend.

122 players have reserved an audition time and will be in Raleigh for their audition this weekend. The first round of auditions, the preliminary round, will take place in Meymandi Concert Hall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Every player will play the same set of excerpts (selected by the audition committee), and will have 5 minutes to convince the audition committee that they should be considered for the position and should advance to the second round of semi-final auditions.

In order to ensure that the audition committee considers only the playing of the auditionee, the player stands alone on the stage of Meymandi, with the audition committee (nine players from the orchestra) seated behind a large screen in the middle of the hall. We put a line of carpet from the stage door to the playing position on stage, in the area of the conductor’s podium, so that the committee cannot infer from footsteps anything about the candidate. The players are instructed not to speak to the committee. We make every effort to ensure the complete anonymity of the player so that the committee is judging only on the playing ability of each musician. As the player arrives on stage, I announce the audition number of the candidate to the committee; the players are identified only by this number through the final round of auditions.

Evaluating such a large number of players requires great concentration and stamina on the part of the audition committee. We also have concerts Friday and Saturday evenings, so we are especially grateful for the efforts of our musicians this weekend.

After listening to a group of 7 or 8 players, the committee takes a secret ballot vote to determine if any player advances to the semi-final round. We do not have a pre-determined number of semi-final players, but we will likely have only a dozen or so players who advance to the second round. Every hour or so it is my job, as Personnel Manager, to meet with the group of players who just completed their audition. In most cases, I thank them for coming to the audition and then send them to their cars or taxi to the airport to go home. The few players who advance are scheduled for a semi-final audition time on Monday morning. They head back to the hotel for more individual practice time.

Many of the players at an audition are well acquainted with each other, from school, various gigs they have played, or from other auditions. It can be great fun to see friends again, even though all but one of these players will not be moving to Raleigh this summer!

After more than 20 hours of preliminary auditions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we gather in Meymandi once again early Monday morning for semi-final auditions. The screens are put in place, the carpet rolled out, and the players are given a new set of excerpts to perform. The same members of the audition committee now hear about 10 minutes of music from each player. The audition committee remains unaware of the identity of any player who has advanced to this level in the audition. The stakes are now higher, and the players and the committee are aware of every note, phrase, and nuance in the music.

After hearing the semi-finalists, the committee once again votes to determine which players will advance to the final round. For those eliminated at this stage, the level of disappointment is much greater than those eliminated after the preliminary round. For some players, there is more disappointment ahead. For one player – their life is about to change.

For the final round, the screens are removed, the carpet is taken up and the audition committee is joined by Grant Llewellyn. A new set of excerpts will be played by each musician, and the committee has a chance to evaluate the player’s resume of education and experience. The player is alone on stage, but the committee and Grant now evaluate the clarinet playing as well as the stage presence of this musician. Grant will often request some stylistic changes in a particular excerpt, which helps to evaluate the flexibility and depth of the individual’s playing, in addition to how well they understand and respond to the conductor’s instructions. The final round will often be 30 minutes or more of playing by each candidate, requiring great focus and concentration by the player and the committee.

A frank and open discussion is led by Grant after hearing all the final round candidates. The committee can consult their individual notes to express their assessment of each player, identified in their notes by the audition number. This evaluation takes in everything that has been heard and seen – a very intense level of scrutiny. From this discussion, Grant determines the winner of the audition, and the audition concludes with everyone meeting our next Principal Clarinet. The committee members often speak with the other candidates with words of encouragement for their future auditions and congratulations on advancing to the final round here.

We all remember our own auditions, the auditions we attended and went home long before a winner was chosen, and especially the audition when our name was announced as the winning musician. The committee approaches the rigorous task of evaluating so many players with the knowledge that any one of these musicians might be sitting next to us for many years to come. The candidates have invested heavily in these auditions: an enormous amount of individual practice time, perhaps extra lessons with a favorite teacher or coach, travel expenses, hotels and meals. We have best wishes for each musician who has chosen to compete for the opportunity to join the North Carolina Symphony, and pledge to each of them that they will be given a fair and honest hearing and evaluation of their efforts.