Fair Play

My favorite orchestra has, of late been embroiled in a battle over whether or not certain individuals should have to formally audition for vacant positions in the ensemble. Most of said positions are for principal players, and (due to our two year-long conductor search) for the last three or four years, most have been temporarily filled by musicians from within the current ranks.
The argument on one side is that these temporary  principals have served faithfully and competently, and should be awarded the job without further ado. The other side of the argument is that in order to be fair to all parties and to our musical community as a whole, contractually-stipulated formal auditions (including a concerto and orchestral excerpts) are required in order to fill vacancies.
In decades past, positions in this group were pretty regularly filled by being given to whoever had been there the longest, which was peachy for the awardees. The ramifications for the remainder of the orchestra however, were varied and not necessarily in the best interests of quality performance.
This particular community has its' own little musical ecosystem made up of a symphony orchestra, a university music department and many public school music programs and private teachers. Each component both feeds off of and sustains the others. The university employs highly qualified music professors who educate the next generations of public school music teachers. The university and public school teachers play in the symphony, and openings in the symphony help attract quality music professors to the university and public schools.
Like any gene pool, if you do nothing but interbreed, the system will develop critical defects and eventually collapse. Looking outward and advertising job openings in other cities besides your own is essential to ensuring the strongest body of talent.
Local talent need not be afraid of the process, if they are truly committed to having the best orchestra possible. The audition should give them an opportunity to take a fresh look at their own skills, to discover what areas they might want to brush up on, as well as an opportunity to display their strengths as an individual musician. The notion that, once inside an organization you should be able to sit back and relax for the rest of your career without any desire to continually improve is sadly common.
There was a survey done (by whom, I don't remember) which asked what was the most unpleasant part of people's lives.....The answer? Overwhelmingly, it was going to work. Humans are an inherently lazy species, and seem to refuse to accept that if one wishes to achieve certain things in life, one must work at it (no matter how old one is). If we were still somewhere in the middle of the food chain, I don't think we would be so inclined to think that way...
      A friend and colleague has expressed concerns about my own chances in the audition process, owing to the fact that I refuse to speak to four individuals who are in "positions of influence". The reasons are varied and all have to do with differences in defining the words "respect" and "integrity", and I have told said friend that I will not compromise my integrity by associating with these folks. I have faith that our conductor is smart enough to put musicianship and experience ahead of personality clashes. Not speaking to four people is hardly a disruption in an orchestra, and has absolutely no bearing on how I play my instrument!
   If we were talking about my less-favorite orchestra, my chances might be different. Leopold the Egocentric is highly influenced by whoever cozies up to him, and considering it is a non-union pick-up orchestra, he can do pretty much whatever he wants with personnel.
   If, somehow I am wrong about Slava and he does take advice from certain nemeses, then I think our band is truly in trouble. If a position as a musician is going to be dictated by interpersonal relationships, then I don't think I want the job. I think that he is wiser than that, and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.