For many of us, ‘The Voice’ was our first introduction to blind auditions. After years of watching American Idol and The X Factor, the meritocratic nature of this show would serve as a refreshing take on competitive reality TV. Yet, unknown to many is that blind auditions go back much farther than 2012 to 1969, when two Black musicians would challenge the very nature of the orchestra hiring system. After being rejected for positions in the New York Philharmonic orchestra, cellist Earl Madison and double bassist Arthur Davis opened a discrimination case stating that they faced rejection because of their…...
The Reckoning of Orchestra Representation: A Vision for Blind Auditions
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