James Zimmermann

Well, thanks for having me on, Dr. Drew.

What happened was I moved to Nashville in 2008 to be principal clarinetist of the Nashville Symphony.

That's a job I won in a blind audition against 300 other clarinet players for one job.

These blind auditions are very competitive, but that's how you get into an orchestra, kind of like a sports tryout, American Idol-style competition, purely based on merit.

Right.

I had a great 12-year run there.

I'm also a studio player, so I'm on many movies and Netflix shows and video games and political events and all kinds of commercial music.

There's a much better chance that you and your listeners have heard me than that you have not heard me.

I've taught at the college level.

Yeah.

Blind auditions were innovated about 60 years ago when orchestras were mostly male and mostly white.

And musicians wanted to have a way into orchestras if they didn't have the necessary connections or pedigree or money.

So they put blind auditions into practice and a generation later they're 50-50 male-female.

So that reveals there was a ton of sexism back in the 60s and 70s when this stuff started.

But that is the whole purpose of blind auditions.

Oh God, I know.

that we don't know where you went to school, we don't know how much experience you have, what race or gender or political orientation you are.

It's totally decided on your playing alone.

And then, if you win that thing, you join an orchestra,

on probation for a year where they can evaluate whether or not you're actually good at the job, you know, playing in front of an audience, playing with other people, taking direction, showing up on time, having a good personality.