Mr. Bergeron highlighted the importance of adaptability and collaboration by emphasizing that no seating position is inherently more valuable than others. Traditionally, musicians sit in order of skill level, with the first chair or principal of a section being typically being reserved for the most skilled musicians. The Concertmaster is the first chair of the first violin section; violins are traditionally divided into two sections, first and second violins. He said that an example of this would be Lynn Sung ’26, who was Concertmaster in the Fall Family Weekend Concert, but in the Winter Concert will play second violin, a lower position. Daphne Huang ’25, one of the Assistant Concertmasters (the, will take a seat toward the back of the second violin section.

Sung explained that the Deerfield Orchestra seating is determined by faculty evaluation, with the “top four musicians typically getting the role to be Concertmaster or concert assistant,” she said. However, this year, the seating arrangement for the first and second violinists has been switched, which led to a variety of reactions. Sung believes that seniority definitely matters because when she was a freshman, students who were in the higher grade levels sat in the first two chairs. However, as a Concertmaster, she believes that performance skills and ability matter more, especially if there’s a significant difference between seniority and skill, which is also dependent on the faculty’s assessment of each musician’s ability.

Huang highlighted the importance of other skills over seniority as the first determining factor for the seating arrangement. She said, “Seniority should be the last factor to consider when the musicians are equally skilled… The best musician who can lead the orchestra and perform a good solo deserves to be seated as principal.”

Principal Cellist Liv Boe ’25 believes that the orchestra’s seating arrangement essentially comes down to a mix of skill and seniority. Boe shared her experiences with seating arrangements in previous years. “When I was a sophomore, I was the Principal Cello, while Ben Wolfson [’24] was the Assistant Principal. But then when he was a senior, we were Co-Principles,” she said. Additionally, when she was a freshman, there were some seniors who she believes weren’t necessarily as skilled as other cellists who were in the back row. Boe said, “Seniority this year is a lot less prevalent.”

As for the new seating rotations, Boe said, “I think it’s definitely valuable to have the people in the back, like, have exposure to playing with people that are in the front.” Sung agreed that switching seats may benefit an individual’s ability and performance skills. She added, “I feel that the Concertmaster, or the assistant Concertmaster are gonna experience more, and it’s also beneficial for people from the back as they can gain an opportunity in working with different musicians.” She also emphasized the responsibility that follows a musician on where they’re seated at because it could potentially affect the concert’s overall quality (due to the alteration of leadership roles).

For the woodwinds and brass section, the seating and music parts have changed from a fixed seating to a rotating basis, allowing each musician to gain the opportunity to play different parts and lead their section. Clarinetist Andrew Li ’27 said, “Since we have to play different parts, for musicians to switch between parts, that requires some versatility.” Similarly, trombone player Howard Jin ’27 pointed out, “A challenge from rotating seats could be having to adjust to the range of parts.”

In response to the new woodwind seating positions, Clarinetist Lukenine Surphakarn ’25 said, “I believe that there are a lot of personal feelings involved, but I also think giving everyone the opportunity to have the principal role without necessarily having to work for it can be a little detrimental.”

Since the Deerfield’s orchestra currently doesn’t require auditions for students to participate, the new changes to the ensemble allowed musicians to think about whether auditions should be an effective way of deciding upon seating arrangements. Suphakarn specified, “I think that they [auditions] could definitely be helpful.” On the contrary, Huang believes that auditions should not be required at Deerfield, saying, “Deerfield is a place that fosters learning for everyone and it is ideal that everybody deserves to have access to seating.”