It's done! I am sitting on Northwest Airlines Flight 4782 from Indianapolis, having finished less than three hours ago the deliberations about who will be in the Gerdine Young Artist Program for our spring 2007 season. I thought while it was still fresh in my mind I would try to describe the trip, the "process" and the time I had with my beloved and extraordinary colleagues on this grueling, often superhuman, funny, despairing, tense, overeating and undersleeping part of the artistic life of OTSL.

Preview –Atlanta- New York: November 2-5.

The real odyssey started in Boston, but before that Paul Kilmer (OTSL’s Director of Artistic Administration) and I had heard Gerdine Young Artist auditions in Atlanta and several days of principal auditions with Charles MacKay in New York – along with the endless planning meeting we always have there. We heard singers at the Jazz at Lincoln Center studios in the new Time Warner Building on Columbus Circle; it was Marathon time, and hotels, taxis, and the whole city were full of energy and activity. Whole Foods was in the basement of the building, and we improved our waistlines as well as the bottom line with excellent takeout.

Despite some lackluster auditions, we managed to hear several singers who were real material for OTSL, which prompted us to think very hard about our future repertoire. Following our mission, we do not try to cast with stars like the Chicago Lyric, but to bring back old friends where appropriate and bring some new, young and fresh people into our family. This goes to the heart of what we try to do and seem to do so well.

When we finished there, Charles stayed on to adjudicate the Sullivan Foundation auditions; I went home for a few days for the first time since Labor Day and Paul flew back to STL to catch up on paperwork before we started on the next chapter.

Boston – New York: November 12-16

Boston was sunny the first day; Paul and I heard a full afternoon of singers at 7-minute intervals. We were joined the next day by Sandra Horst, our brilliant chorus master, for a complete day of auditions. I wanted to sleep in my own bed the first night, which meant braving the traffic the next morning and taking 2 3/4 hours to come back into town in the rain on what should have been a 50-minute ride.

We were incredibly grateful that Susan Eastman, a national patron and maid-of-all-work living in Boston, ran the auditions for us smoothly and happily (she even came to NY to do it for us there!).

We flew back to New York on Monday night but not without waiting for hours beyond security in Boston while it fogged, rained, misted and La Guardia took its sweet time in opening a spot for us. Did I mention that after security in Boston there is only Burger King? I passed it by but my buddies didn't! I simply hoped for TWO pretzel bags on the plane.

New York, as always, came and went like the wind. We heard singers at Riverside Church way up town, and virtuous (?) me walked from 75th Street up to 122nd every day. We did our Starbucks runs, we ate our Japanese and Chinese lunches, visited with friends when not auditioning, enjoyed our own Curt Pajer playing for all auditions for three full days and all was well, except for the fact we found this year's level to not be so high as it has been before. There were, of course, the usual standouts, but the general person walking through the door wasn't as good as in the past. Nevertheless, we found some super new folks whom everyone will enjoy getting to know.

Philadelphia: November 17

We scrambled to Penn Station for our trek to Philadelphia - an hour's train ride away. We checked into the Warwick and as the one that got the sleep-number bed I was the envy of my colleagues, until the fire alarm in my room needed a battery and chirped every 5 minutes from 4 AM onwards! We heard auditions all day at the Curtis Institute. Again, some really fine folks mixed in with a general level that was disquieting. Auditions that day were played by David Moody, a former member of our music staff, and we enjoyed catching up with him and his exemplary playing.

Oberlin,OH: November 18

From Curtis we sped to Philadelphia Airport where with only one hour to go and no food, we were terrified to behold the world's longest security line – which we navigated successfully only to be delayed again on the tarmac. We landed in Cleveland to drive to Oberlin for the night. and met Paul's pregnant and wonderful assistant Gina Pellegrino at the airport. By that time we were starving so we stopped at Macaroni Grill; I sped in before the rest to get a table and when I told the hostess "table for four and one of them is heavy with child" she looked at me and smiled and said," and who are the lucky grandparents?" The NERVE!!!!!!

Oberlin Inn was as ratty as usual, my room was over the bar – and smoke rises. Enough said. But we heard some fantastic singers (all under 22!) and wondered what was in the drinking water to make them all so good. Our pianist was Linda Jones, a long-time member of the music staff at OTSL in the beginning. Catching up with her is always a lesson in how much information we can cram into the short breaks between singers. I missed joining the group at lunchtime as I took our own Alek Shrader out to lunch and spent some quality time catching up and giving him some fatherly– NOT grandfatherly!– advice.

Those auditions started at 9:30 AM; and we finished at 3 and again sped to the airport to catch a flight to STL. No dinner that day. No time.

We checked into the hotel and collapsed in our beds (lucky Gina and Paul went to their homes) but not until Sandra had made a super-quick trip to DSW. What IS it about women and shoes??

Saint Louis: November 19

We started auditions in the Hecker Room in the Sally Levy Opera Center (thanks again, ladies) at 10; it was the day after the Saint Louis MET auditions and the final moments of Opera On The Go. After a long day we commandeered the OOTG van and drove -- yes, drove -- to Bloomington. Paul seemed just ever so disappointed when I said I wanted to drive half way, but I am older so he had to give in.

Bloomington: November 20 - 21

We got there in reasonable shape (by reasonable I mean BREATHING, as anything else was not possible), I fell asleep in my room half-clothed with the TV on and woke feeling like Evil Kneivel after a bad ride. But we persevered and survived a day of 5-minute auditions from 10:00 -6:00. This morning we went from 10 - 12 followed by deliberations, the casting of the small roles and the very important and necessary covers, and then flew to the airport where I boarded this plane.

By the time it was over we had heard 92 principal auditions and 418 potential Gerdine Young Artists, who arrived promptly, faces alight with hope and pockets full of student loan payment books.

I am more than ever convinced that OTSL does this right. I think I am the only music director perhaps in the world who hears all the auditions for every level we have. The luxury of having Sandra with us, the preparation that Gina has to do with all the travel logistics, and quirky, logical, illogical and wonderful Paul keeping us all in a pack all go into what makes - we hope - a season everyone will remember and provides the advice and counsel, support, love and honesty to a whole group of people who against many odds are trying to live their dreams.

The pilot just said it'll be another hour?

Stephen Lord