Hi Dave,
For better or worse, I would still prefer to get a live performance. But I also give thanks that we have excellent sample technology also.
For many years I did custom arrangements for my church. We were a medium size church and always had unusual instrument combinations. For example, for several years we had an outstanding flute player, mediocre viola, my son playing first trumpet (moderately good) a beginner second trumpet, and myself playing the trombone (I was pretty good, with a very wide range and silky smooth legato). Creating an arrangement that worked for everyone was a challenge, but also a joy because my work was performed in front of 800 people every single week. But the music director would never use anything of mine that was original. He wanted arrangements of old hymns, or of the praise songs currently on Christian radio.
Anyway, one interesting thing is that the flute, and my son, kept getting better, but the viola and the second trumpet never seemed to improve.
There is nothing like the feeling of a live performance. So my answer is to keep trying to get live performances. You can tip the scales in your favor by trying as much as possible to make your music less challenging for the performers. Musicians know when something is beyond them and they just sort of shut down and go through the motions. Don't push them too hard and they will be more likely to become invested in the music.
Cheers,
Paul