Christopher Smith wrote:
On Jun 18, 2006, at 2:33 PM, Carl Dershem wrote:
1) Very few possess the forces and money to front a complete pit
orchestra any more. Shows that I played in the 70's with a full pit
orchestra I now play with often 1/2 to 2/3 the musicians, all working
harder - but still cheaper for the producer than the full orchestra.
2) Most non-musicians neither know nor care who is in the pit or what
the music really sounds like, so long as it's what they expect. Heck
- a lot of people are so used to canned music, or a handful of
keyboard/synth players in the pit, that they are surprised to see/hear
a live orchestra.
And this is what we have to speak out against. Do the ticket buyers
realise that 30 years ago 25% was a reasonable portion of a musical's
budget to allocate for music, while 15% today is the norm, but ticket
prices are still as high as ever (adjusted for inflation?) If the music
in a musical isn't good, then what is?
Recent strikes on New York and Philadelphia helped, but ... the general
public just doesn't care, so long as they get what they want. They
consider canned music or synthesized music to be good enough, and
because almost no one nowadays plays music, and they think those
schmucks on "American Idol" are the epitome of musicianship, they don't
appreciate just what it takes to play at the level we're discussing.
"Heck - those people on Idol do great and they're just amateurs - isn't
it that way for all musicians?" It only takes talent - training is just
added expense, and not entirely necessary.
How to get past this mindset is a mystery to me. Any ideas???
cd
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