The New York Philharmonic Finally Has A New Principal Clarinettist
It took about two years , but the New York Philharmonic has finally chosen a clarinettist to succeed the legendary Stanley Drucker ,who reitred at the end of the 2008-09 season at the age of about 80 after an astonishing 60 years or so in this key orchestra position .
The new man on the job is Ricardo Morales , who has been principal clarinet of the now financially toubled Philadelphia orchestra for some time, after having served in the same position in the Metropolitan opera orchestra .
No candidate was chosen in the long and difficult audition process , so the Philharmonic decided to invite a number of leading clarinettists from other top American orchestras to play as guests at concerts . The orchestra's associate principal clarinettist had been serving as acting principal for some time. Associate principal woodwind players divide the work of the principal at concerts and play other positions in addition .
Normally , a winner is chosen at the auditions , which are held with a group of musicians from the orchestra called the audition committe . The auditions are held in preliminaries and finals , with only a handful of applicants surviving to the finals , and the music director ,who is the chief conductor of the orchestra , joins the committee in the finals to decide . Check an earlier post of mine called "How Do You Get A Job In A Symphony Orchestra?" for more details on the audition process .
Morales will officially take over in the 2012-2113 season ,but is expected to spend some time with the orchestra before this. He leaves the Philadelphia orchestra with the task of finding a new principal clarinettist at a very difficult time for the orchestra . Let's all wish him the best in his demanding new job .