Classical music instruction is expensive, and this is why whites dominate the classical world. As students improve, they need better teachers — who cost more, often much more. They need to attend summer music programs. These are expensive, the best ones are very expensive, and they may be far from the student’s home, entailing transportation expenses. The students need better, more expensive instruments. The best college-level music programs are, you guessed it, quite expensive.
A musically gifted student without those opportunities will simply not be able to compete at upper levels. Ending blind auditions won’t solve this problem. Money and opportunity aimed at financially disadvantaged students will.
If music lovers want top-quality musicians playing in a top-quality orchestra, blind auditions are a must. Our challenge is to prepare a larger, more diverse talent pool for the rigors of those auditions.
Lynn Lloyd
Mount Shasta, Calif.
To the Editor:
I imagine that Anthony Tommasini has received some flak over his proposal to end blind orchestra auditions in order to promote racial diversity in symphony orchestras.
I suggest a simple modification: Keep the blind audition but, when the competition is close, have it identify the top two (or more) performers. Their names would then be submitted to a special panel charged with making the final decision and possessing background information on the applicants. For the orchestra wishing to diversify, that decision would be based on race.
This will guarantee, for both supporters and doubters, that the quality of the orchestra is not being compromised. It will guarantee that Black musicians so chosen are worthy of the position and not under any cloud. And it will avoid risking deleterious blowups on the divisive subject of affirmative action.
Nick Tingley
Greenwich, Conn.
To the Editor:
There is no question that Black and Latino musicians are underrepresented in U.S. orchestras. Yet there are no quick fixes for a complex set of social and economic factors that have blocked the entry of people of color into the classical music profession.