Home-Grown Conducting Talent: How to Observe It and Secure It

While you are right that the League does not charge a fee for those attending, it DOES charge a $50 fee for any conductor wanting a chance at this sort of exposure. It also seems, from the profiles of those chosen in the past, to be a program mainly to give young conductors exposure as opposed to older conductors who have not been able to rise from the lower levels of orchestras. So, in principle, it is very much like a conducting competition. They both have general age limits (stated or implied by past choices), charge a fee to apply, and offer the prize of exposure (with concerts or showcasing to searching orchestras). While this is a good start, we need something even better and it would be nice if the League could find a more comprehensive and regular way to address the discovery of hidden talent, regardless of age or conducting history (remember Klaus Tennstedt?), and promote these talents to the orchestra world at large.
There also needs to be a series of proper channels to feed these conductors to search committees, sort of like a full-time Exxon program but for all orchestras.

The League does charge what I believe can be called a nominal fee, which helps offset the costs of the program. As far as the issue of older conductors, your assumption is simply wrong. The problem has been that mostly younger conductors have applied - possibly because older conductors have not thought that it was for them. This year's preview includes Jonathan McPhee, who has been principal conductor of the Boston Ballet for many years now. I think that there is a mis-perception out there that this is only for younger conductors, but it is absolutely not.

The League's predecessor to this was a program that chose three conductors to direct a concert each June at the League's annual conference, to give them exposure to the field. I remember well one year when James Paul, then about fifty, conducted the Baltimore Symphony at the Kennedy Center in a galvanizing performance of the "Enigma" Variations, a performance that did, in fact, result in a number of guest conducting engagements for him.

Those involved with these programs (myself included) have always intended them to exist for one purpose - to call attention to conductors that we (and the independent panel we assemble each time) feel are deserving of the exposure. Age has never been a factor, and I hope that discussions like this will serve to clarify that, so that perhaps some more experienced conductors will consider applying in the future.
-Henry

The principle problem you are discussing, and the comparison with Germany, is not primarily due to the geographic separation of America’s cities. It’s that Germany has roughly about 23 more times more fulltime, year-round orchestras per capita than the USA. If we had similar funding for the arts, there would be many very good regional, fulltime, year-round orchestras within an overnight trip from Chicago.

Since you mention Munich, let’s remind ourselves that it has 7 fulltime, yearound orchestras for 1.2 million people: The Bayerishcer Rundfunk, The Munich Philharmonic, The State Opera Orchestra (with about 140 orchestra members), The Gaertner Platz Opera Orchestra, The Bavarian State Radio Entertainment Orchestra (gradually being phased out), the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and the Munich Symphoniker (the city’s only private orchestra which works mostly in the film industry.) All of the musicians in these orchestras have fulltime positions with full benefits. By the same per capita measure, Chicago with 2.8 million people would have at least 20 orchestras in the area.

And then there is Augsburg, which is forty-five minutes from Munich and which has its own year-round opera house. They perform the entire Ring every year as well as numerous symphonic concerts.

To stress the point, let’s take a closer look at Albuquerque, since you mention it. The orchestra only pays its solo chairs about 15k per year. The tutti strings are amateurs (or maybe in some cases semi-professionals) who make from 5 to 7k per year. The orchestra can’t tour even around the state because almost the entire string section is comprised of people who have day jobs they can’t leave.

America is the only industrial country in the world without a comprehensive system of public arts funding. Until this problem is solved, our conductors better continue to look to Europe to develop their careers. The League’s visitation program will never make up for the systemic problems created by a lack of funding.

Please do not block this post. People need to hear about these things.

We hardly ever block posts. I do not disagree with the points Mr. Osborne makes. The system of major public funding of the arts in place in Europe (and elsewhere) is certainly something to be envied in many ways, and I agree that the arts are simply in a different place in American society. But we live where we live, and we try to make the best possible set of conditions for where we are. I certainly agree that the League's programs cannot make up for the proliferation of orchestras in Europe. But they are an attempt to deal with our reality as best as we can.
-Henry