The Los Angeles Philharmonic has been busy trying to plug multiple holes in its roster throughout this season. The COVID-19 pandemic had prevented it from trying to hire anyone for over a year. That changed beginning Fall of 2021 when they held auditions for Section 1st and 2nd Violin and Fourth Horn. The orchestra followed … Continue reading
Norman Pearson played his first concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1982 as a substitute on 2nd tuba. Simon Rattle conducted The Rite of Spring. Not a bad start. He’d go on to spend most of his professional career with the LA Phil, including many more concerts as a substitute before becoming an official … Continue reading
Dear Reader (including those of you who’d normally only come here for orchestra audition repertoire lists, the rare operatic April Fools’ joke, or military music freebies, and especially anyone who recognizes that I’m apolitically stealing this “Dear Reader” gag from Jonah Goldberg): In the heady pre-pandemic days of February 2020, I was preparing to chat … Continue reading
Life can seem frozen during this strangest, most turbulent of years. There’s a desire to rewind and redo the past, or to fast-forward to a post-pandemic future that hopefully looks and feels like the underappreciated 2019 (or 2015 or 2000 or . . . ) of our memory. Yet time — and life — trudges … Continue reading
All is Yar 