# Jasmine Choi's contract not renewed with Vienna Symphony



## Lunasong

Source: http://www.artsjournal.com/slippedd...pal-flute-speaks-out-about-her-dismissal.html

It is with great regret that I talk about what happened to myself and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. What a strange ending we had, after having such a fantastic time playing together in the past concert season.
Of course it is very disappointing for me because I had given my best possible contribution to this orchestra in every way in the past season, including all the subscription concerts, several concert tours, the Easter concert, and even played as a soloist in the opening concert of the Bregenz Festival (below) just a couple of weeks ago.









July 17, 2013

I do admit that many colleagues questioned my trial year, *mostly because of the things that I could not change - being a foreigner, asian, female, principal* position, studied in the United States, never lived in Europe, never studied in Vienna, etc. Some even told me with sincere concern that I had the complete "wrong" package to become a member of this orchestra. It has been an open discussion among the musicians throughout the whole year, holding some official and unofficial meetings about my position, and I was criticized over micro details such as I was too friendly to everyone that it was calculated, or I should not have made my upcoming Mozart quartets recording with the colleagues in my trial year and so on. Even though in the end I was always told that it is nothing against my playing, nothing I should worry about and just be the self-being and everything would be fine.

However, the result is the result- I had *47 positive votes and 66 negative*, and I would like to simply embrace the fact. I was also told that in this orchestra's entire 113-year history, I am *only the second musician to be out after their trial year,* following the exit of a concertmaster who happened to be a female Japanese a few years back.

Mr.Johannes Neubert talked about the possibility of playing in the fall when he called on the phone with the news last Saturday, saying that I can take some time to think about this until our meeting. And there has been no further meetings yet, because of the high fever I was going through in the past several days.
Thank you very much.

Best regards,

Jasmine Choi

Some of these assertions are disputed by the orchestra.

J_ohannes Neubert, general manager of the orchestra, disputes Jasmine Choi's claim that she was only the second principal to be voted out after a year in the seat. Here are his statistics:_

Dear Mr Lebrecht,

We cannot say for sure how many musicians have not passed their trial years in the course of the 113 years of the orchestra's history. However, what we can say is that in the past 2 decades or so there were many more musicians who did not pass their trial years, for instance 3 concertmasters (one male/Austrian, one female/Austrian, one female/Japanese), 1 principal viola (male/Austrian), 1 principal double-bass (male German), one principal oboe (male/Austrian), one principal bassoon (male/Austrian), one harp (female/Hungarian). These are examples of players on principal positions, only. A list including tutti or second positions would be longer (including both male and female players, the majority Austrians).

Please note, too, that Jasmine Choi was not "fired". As in the case of all other employments, we advertised the position internationally, auditioned and hired the best candidate with a one-year contract. If there is no positive voting from the orchestra, the contract expires automatically at the end of the trial year. The voting is always anonymous and supervised both by the musicians committee and the management, in order to make sure, that everything is correct. This is common procedure in almost all orchestras we know.

With best wishes,

Johannes Neubert


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## Huilunsoittaja

Yes, when I read both of those articles myself yesterday, I had very mixed reactions. I'm hurt that the whole thing happened, it was a strange situation. My qualms about the situation are the following:

How important is it for an orchestra to represent the native people around it?
How far can "patriotism" go when it comes to musicians entering orchestras?
Will there ever be a time when talent alone will be the sole qualification for such positions?

To me, it looked like Choi was "patriotic" enough since she worked her hardest to play well, especially with those extra performances. I wonder a few other things too though: did she speak German? Did she take up full residency in Vienna, or did she actually live somewhere else, and only went to Vienna to perform? Otherwise, was she simply taking advantage of the situation, that it was a chance at stardom? "Out-sourcing" so-to-speak?

But then again, was there racism/sexism? Possibly. Was the fact she wasn't like everyone else causing a _presumption _that she wouldn't fit in? And does it really matter that she may or may not ever fit in? I wonder about these things. These are questions many performers face.


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## Ukko

_Huilun_ has a lot of questions, and there isn't enough information for much else except questions. She was certainly voted out, but that about covers the facts.


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## hreichgott

I'm a bit stuck on this practice of having the orchestra vote on whether their colleagues get to keep their jobs. Seems like the best possible result would be a bit of friendly politicking. The worst possible result would be an old-boy club that seeks to maintain its comfortable equilibrium, which would be especially disadvantageous to those who didn't go out of their way to play nice and fit in (and women and minorities are expected to go way more out of their way than anyone else in such situations). 

No contract I've ever had has ever involved any sort of being voted on by colleagues. It would be hard to imagine. But then, I'm in the individualist USA, and I don't work as an orchestral player...


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## KenOC

The Vienna PO was in the news recently for not taking very good care of their own, at least historically.

"A total of 60 out of 123 orchestra members were members of the Nazi party in 1942, according to the report, released as Austria marks the 75th anniversary of the "Anschluss," the country's annexation by Adolf Hitler's Germany...

All the orchestra's Jewish musicians were dismissed in 1938. Five died in concentration camps; one died after being thrown out of his apartment, and another before being deported. Some Jewish orchestra members managed to escape."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-10/vienna-philharmonic-reveals-nazi-past-jewish-firings.html

Perhaps Ms. Choi should feel fortunate!


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## StlukesguildOhio

Not the Nazis again!


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## PetrB

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Not the Nazis again!


a-Yep, and now three generations after the fact. ["In the news lately" that news from 1942, the height of World War II, _gee willikers and dad gum, I'm just shocked and amazed._]

I wonder how well Brits, Europeans, and Americans were paid, treated, in the classical music business in 1942, and if that would continue to presently hold such fascination, a power to outrage, as does this old clunker, 'newly' discovered facts about the Viennese band in 1942.

Bigger news would be the thawing of what I saw as the most icy, withdrawn public face given to "outsiders" of any place I was in Europe -- the Viennese more than well known with that repute, old world very stiff reserve and social formailty, and waiting months, if not longer, to sniff out a newcomer, say hello, and possibly welcome them in. Newer social attitudes, going about being outwardly friendly, could in that context be considered as gauche, wholly insincere, rude, pandering, overt ambition thought of as tasteless, and threatening. If that was this young musician's approach, I think her musicianship was not the issue, but the social approach she says was taken could have been a collective turn-off, and instead of instilling confidence, may have done just the opposite.

I find her public statement as yet another tell and complain, de rigueur, sadly, of too many of a generation, if not exactly this one (in journalistic parlance, every decade) this and another having been dubbed by one author as "a generation of whiners," and to me they do seem very self-centered, unable to accept either their own mistakes well, nor address any real injustices against their selves properly... and that it is already a turn-off in itself.

Even if you think the Romans backwards, _"When in Rome...."_


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