Conductor auditions ten top pooches required to bark in rare Leopold Mozart work.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s resident conductor Fawzi Haimor has auditioned ten dogs for a rare performance of Leopold Mozart’s Hunting Horn Symphony according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The ten hairy finalists were selected from a series of hopeful video submissions.

The unusual work, by the father of Wolfgang Amadeus, calls for four hunting horns, off-stage rifle fire and a chorus of barking dogs. Most performances on record include the rifles, but none appear to feature the crucial canine dimension. “Each dog has to have its own unique sound,” said Haimor as the wannabe musical mutts lined up.

A tough grilling saw Haimor judge the pets and their owners alongside PSO horn players Bob Lauver and Ron Schneider, Dan Rossi, executive director of the local Animal Rescue League, and Kristen Lane, director of marketing and public relations for the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. The dogs were marked on obedience, focus and vocal timbre.

Haimor gave musical cues to the handlers, who in turn gave the signals to their dogs to bark. In an impressive field, five out of the ten competitors made it...