Musical Illusions

If it’s hard for a violinist to find a job in this country, some of the blame has to go to music teachers because (1) they do a poor job of informing their students that the supply of musicians far exceeds the demand and (2) string teachers in conservatories and university music departments don’t devote time to preparing their students for orchestral auditions; they let their poor students labor under the illusion that they may someday be soloists or chamber players or artist-teachers.

When I was a violin student at an Eastern conservatory, I noticed that those who won professional orchestral auditions were not always the most talented performers--but they did know their orchestral excerpts and they could do well under the pressure of a 10-minute audition.

MATTHEW OKADA

Pasadena