Indirect Routes

I’m writing this from New York City.

It’s well before midnight on Friday night, but rather than whooping it up on the town I’m already in bed (admit it, you’re secretly a wee bit jealous), soft music playing in the background, a journal and a stack of postcards within easy reach.

Tomorrow morning I’ll get up early, get some fresh air with Ethel, and then settle in for an intense day of listening. Because tomorrow starts our annual audition tour. We do this wacky thing where we embark on a national talent search (think Opera Idol), but we don’t pick the projects for next summer until we’ve heard all the singers. It’s bass-ackward from the industry standard, and I can’t think of another company who does it this way. But for us? It totally works, and allows us to make big, ballsy choices while being reasonably sure that the result will be fantastic.

If we had to do it conventionally? Well, I reckon the result would still be good, but it would be much more conservative. More Mozart, less Stravinsky. More safe choices, fewer calculated risks.

(I’m glad we do it this way.)

The downside is that the listening saps my energy in a way that regular office work never could. And so I have to build more quiet time into my schedule than my inner teen (and her FOMO) would like. Being an aural worker in a visual society feels like that first day back to the gym after a hiatus..it shouldn’t be so difficult, but it’s heavy lifting!

So, tomorrow is the first day of school. And 30+ young artists will walk through the door to perform for a panel of 3.
(Best. Job. Ever.)