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drcello
Registered User
Posts: 465
(7/6/01 8:14:03 pm)
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Getting a
symphony job...
Here's an article about the unlikelyhood of getting a job in a good
orchestra...Any advice from pros on how to get started in a
symphony?
http://www.nws.org/aboutus/wallstreetjournal.html
Marshall C. St. John
drcello@vei.net
Wayside Presbyterian Church
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Stefan79
Registered User
Posts: 309
(7/6/01 8:25:37 pm)
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Re: Getting a
symphony job...
He's right...lemmings are cute...
/
Stefan
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zambocello
Registered User
Posts: 658
(7/7/01 4:28:40 am)
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Re: Getting a
symphony job...
Nice fluff piece for MTT and the New World Symphony.
How to
get started in a symphony? Play in tune, play in rhythm, play the
dynamics, play with a "blendable" tone, and play with an appealing
fluency and musicianship. It's that simple! 
The
article alludes to the situation in schools wherein there are no
orchestral studies classes. I think this is changing, but still is
too true. Considering that landing an orchestra job is a great way
to make music and make a living, it would seem that preparing to
land and do an orchestra job should be standard training.
I
never discourage any student from pursuing major studies in music or
a career in music, in spite of the "odds." Is it really possible to
have too many artists? And there is no shame in music majors who
pursue peripheral or unrelated vocations. The artistic perspective,
besides it's personal rewards, is beneficial in many contexts, and
the discipline developed in studying music also helps in other
areas. (Several years ago I read a statistic that music majors had
the highest percentage of acceptance rate into med schools of any
major!)
On the other hand, I worry about college /
conservatory cellists whose satisfaction in life depends on getting
a full-time-salaried orchestra position. Just look at the union
paper; there are only a handful of full-time gigs open every
year.
Let's see. Presuming that there are 25 "full-time" US
orchestras, that each one of those orchestras averages 10 cellists
in the section, and that the average career is 25 years, then there
will be 10 full-time openings per year.
Of course, sometimes
there is musical chairs. Someone who wins a job in Chicago leaves a
job in St. Louis, creating a vacancy there. The winner of the vacant
St. Louis position leaves a vacancy to be auditioned for, etc.......
So sometimes one "net" vacancy creates several auditions. (And the
airlines get richer.)
Ramblin, ramblin, ramblin, though the
brain is babblin, ramblin, ramblin, ramblin, Zamboooooooo!
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justinkagan1
Registered
User
Posts: 408
(7/7/01 7:59:01
am)
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Re: Getting a
symphony job...
Anyone interested in Don Greene's approach should read "Audition
Success". There's very real and good info, Don's methodology has
been tweaked constantly with high returns. He's based in NYC and now
actively involved in the Juilliard scene, mostly thanks to the Met's
principal horn player, Julie Landsman. Worth it, BTW...
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