Considering Traditions

There are traditions in everything. And of course, not all traditions make sense when removed from the original context that birthed them. In Catholicism, one is expected to fast during Lent. What isn’t explained is that fasting was, in Hebrew culture, a means of showing respect for a loved one that had past. For instance, a widow would fast on the day of the year that his/her spouse had died. The obligatory Lenten fast is immediately a sign of respect for Jesus’s trials before his crucifixion, and a participation in those trials.
I have recently tried to break down some traditions in music in the same way, though to no avail. I am currently left with several questions, and no answers. Here are a few pertaining to orchestras:

Why is the first violinist the concert master?

Shouldn’t the member-leader of a group be chosen by the group? I understand that popularity and politics could influence this at some level, but musicians within the ensemble should choose their leader. When it comes to a member of a professional ensemble to whom all assent, musicians would typically rather have the member with the greatest level of musicianship than one that simply won an audition based on playing ability alone.

Why do musicians relinquish decision making rights to those who play higher sounding instruments?

If an orchestra only staffs one tuba player, and typically eighty to one hundred tuba players show up for each audition, one can assume that very talented tuba players are winning the jobs. However, there are at least three positions for trumpets and trombones each. The number of auditionees for trumpet and trombone is not approximately one hundred times the number of positions. Since the tuba player beat more people for their position, and therefore are likely higher in their respective field, shouldn’t they be consulted when it comes to musical judgements?
(I know this one has some holes in the argument, but the intent still holds.)

Why does the orchestra take the tuning pitch from an oboe?

This is not really an issue for professionals, as they are generally pitch-centered when they walk out on stage. For ameture orchestras it is a different matter though. As the oboe is a difficult instrument on which to hold a steady pitch, non-professionals may have considerable difficulty with this basic task. Despite this fact though, the majority of orchestras take their tuning pitch from the principal oboist every time they play together.

Why do string players persist in using out of date tuning systems?

String players play scales based on Pythagorean tuning. Basically this means that they play 8’s, 4ths and 5ths in tune, while playing extremely high leading tones. The result is that any chord played by the string section is litteraly out of tune. What I mean by this is that there are beats being created by unequal sets of overtones in the harmonic series. Once again simply, there are notes being produced (barely audible to the ear) that should match, but do not. This variance creates beats that are discernable. The strings are not the only members of an orchestra though.
Wind and brass players utilize what is called the ‘just’ intonation system. In this system, the beats are eliminated from each possible interval. The result is that not only 8’s, 4ths, and 5ths are beatless, but also major and minor 6’s, 7’s and 3’s. When a wind or brass section of an orchestra plays a major chord, there are (ideally) no beats. The chord even resonates better than the same chord would if played by strings.

As I am merely a student of music currently, and neither a conductor nor orchestra member, I do not have much ability to change any of this. Perhaps one day I will get some answers though.

pax.