Ask An Expert: Talent Scouting

It's been a while since we caught up on our Ask An Expert questions, mainly because I got a batch of them around Christmastime, and promptly forgot about them in my post-holiday daze. Here's a good one from Lakisha Jones:

Q: When there is an event such as someone singing with the orchestra, does the orchestra get to pick who they want to sing with? And if so, how do they choose who they perform with?

Ohhhh, Lakisha, you are about to get a longer answer than you probably wanted. See, glancing through my schedule book, I see that the Minnesota Orchestra will play host to no fewer than 56 soloists (instrumental and vocal) in the 2007-08 season alone! (And that doesn't include Sommerfest - which typically tacks on another dozen or so - or the various guest speakers, choruses and children's choirs that we bring in for several shows each year.) Where do all these people come from?

The short answer is that no, the musicians of the orchestra do not get an official vote on what soloists are engaged to play with us, nor, I think, would we particularly want one. The music world changes so fast, and incredible young musicians turn up in our profession so frequently these days, that those of us making our living within a large ensemble in a single city could never hope to keep track of them all. Certainly, when we play with someone we love, many of us make a point of telling those in charge that we'd like to see them again, and in the rare event that we feel a soloist is perhaps not up to our standard, there are channels through which we can make that clear as well. Our management is pretty good about being responsive to our concerns, but there's no question that booking soloists does not fall to those of us in the band.

That job is actually shared by a number of people, but the guy at the top of the list is our vice president and general manager, Bob Neu. I asked Bob to summarize just exactly how he goes about choosing soloists and planning our seasons, and his response follows:

Bob's Answer: The process is one that is on-going and ever-changing. Our future planning is quite far out and in various stages. For example:

2008-'09 season - Completely finished.

'09-'10 - All conductors hired, most soloists hired, touring planned, most large projects in place

'10-'11 - Schedule is laid out, Osmo's weeks are secured, a couple of major artists tied to major projects are in place.

'11-'12 - Just laying out the schedule.

As Music Director, Osmo has the final voice in the guest artists that are engaged. I try to serve as his sounding board, editor and organizer. To that end, I keep all kinds of lists reminding us of who needs to be brought back, who we're curious about, who's just starting to emerge as an important artist, and who might be an interesting gamble. Part of my job is to stay on top of this by keeping in touch with the industry - daily reading includes The New York Times, Financial Times of London (great arts reporting), and the London Times. Monthly reading includes Opera News and BBC Music Magazine, lots of internet monitoring, and talking with my colleagues around the country and in Europe. I don't actually listen to a lot of recordings but strongly prefer hearing potential soloists in a live performance situation. You learn a lot more that way! I also spend a great deal of time being sure that the artists' managers are connected to the Orchestra and feeling positive about us. Most of the managers are located in New York and London so this entails lots of phone and e-mail time and I make a point of going to both locations at least twice a year to make personal calls on these companies, essentially serving as an ambassador for Osmo and the Orchestra.

In planning a season, we try to have a mixture of established talent, artists who are emerging with major careers, and artists who are perhaps not so well known but whom we think show enormous potential and deserve opportunities. Osmo also believes very strongly in featuring our own musicians as soloists. We also consider a mix of instruments - by virtue of repertoire, this tends to be weighted towards pianists and violinists, but we try to add variety. (An amazing percussion ensemble from Sweden, Kroumata, will be with us later this season.) And like pretty much everyone else, I work within a budget, so that is an additional consideration. Happily, I work with a Music Director who understands that and appreciates the balance of "art vs. commerce."

Last but not least, one has to actually engage the artist by making sure he/she is available for the period we're filling, as well as determining if they're offering compatible concerto choices (sometimes we suggest a concerto, sometimes the artist does), and finding out if the artist wants to come to Minneapolis to perform with the orchestra and conductor. The latter is never a problem given the quality and reputation of the Orchestra and of Osmo. In fact, a good amount of my time is spent (tactfully, I hope) NOT engaging artists who clamor to be here but that we aren't able to engage for one reason or another.

I can't really say how long it takes to plan a season since we're always working on several seasons at once and things move around and change up until sometimes just day before a season is announced. It's very much a jigsaw puzzle, but yet it all has considerable thoughtfulness behind it. It's great fun to tackle, and Osmo's leadership in the process is fantastic. His tastes and preferences are specific and strong, and that makes my job a lot easier.