According to the Chronicle-Telegram, it all began two weeks ago when 89 timpanists arrived in Southern California for the first round of tryouts. Each musician played for five minutes behind a screen, a time-honored tradition to protect women from discrimination.

Nineteen timpanists were called back to play again, and by Tuesday night, the field was narrowed to five. By Wednesday, just three were in the running.

Then they entered the home stretch: playing selections of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Hindemith with the orchestra.

Jason Ginter focused on what his teachers always taught him to do: visualize his drumming as just one small part of a very, very big sound. Jason:

\"The thing that separates people who do it well is that they’re able to hear the entire orchestra in their head.\"

By the end of the tryout Jason was exhausted, but he didn’t have to wait long for the news — he was chosen.

The final choice was made by Jahja Ling, conductor of the San Diego Symphony, with input from nine musicians. Ling was impressed by Jason\'s performance. He states in The Chronicle-Telegram:

\"[Jason\'s] playing had a great sense of ensemble and color. Color in an orchestral setting is just like color in painting: it makes things interesting. Timpanists have to pick the certain mallet that will produce the sound that fits the particular moment The timpani’s very important — it’s like the backbone of an orchestra.”