There are many young players winning the position, but it is very difficult to keep them after the trial year. In the orchestra we need consistency, flexibility, friendliness each other, trust each other, one for all & all for one.
And there are too many players out, who can play all equally good than there colleagues in the orchestra or better - in the home studio, in the practice room, but they never did make it for a permanent orchestra job, because they could not convince the jury. Playing the right notes at the right time in the right dynamic with perfect intonation --- is not enough to win or to keep the job. There must be something else. THE MUSIC. But not voluntarily MAKING some music (comes out as a caricature often), the music must come from the heart of the player. If there is no talent, hardest work will not compensate by no ways. FINISH THIS THREAD, NOW !!!! ###################################################################################################################### Am 22.05.2010 um 01:43 schrieb [email protected]: > > To admit that, means we have to admit we have to bite the bullet and accept > two things: > > 1) We are better than some players > 2) Some players are much better than we are > > I find that there is a lot of camping on orchestra positions simply because > it's a hard thing to get (with or without an audition) - including first call > sub. Let's face it, just because you have been a particular chair in a > particular orchestra for 20 years does not make you the best player in the > area. There could be people who move into the area who play better than you > do. There could be people who have lived in the area and who play better than > you but don't stick their name out on any list. > > An audition for a chair doesn't mean that they select the best person for the > job either. It's just the person they thought played the best that particular > day. Past reputation doesn't go into it. They don't hear your last recital. > They don't pop in your CD if you have one. They just select someone who they > liked that day who was qualified for the position. There also could have been > many who were qualified as well, but they could only select one. > > That chair also may have a standard, but let's face it, 95% of what Horn > players play is not that difficult. If you don't believe me, think of how > many actually challenging pieces you have to do within a given season. They > are few and far between and peppered between staples and things most Horn > players have done dozens if not a hundred times. With all but the top > orchestras, the bar is reachable by more people than you think. If not, then > how many mediocre subs keep getting calls to sub again? If not, then how come > there are many mediocre players who have sat in the same chair for decades? > > I'll tell you why. It's seniority - coupled with the unwillingness to let go > of a job that's incredibly difficult to get. > > How many of us would let go of a winning lottery ticket? > How many of us would willingly allow a re-audition of their own chair? > > Granted, in real jobs you don't have to re-apply for your own position - but > you do have to face re-evaluations every now and then. Plus, there are more > job opportunities outside of music than there are within. > > -William > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Larry Jellison <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Fri, May 21, 2010 6:49 pm > Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Alternative to auditions in an amatuer setting > > > Valerie touches on an important issue regarding the seating in amateur > orchestras. There is a natural tension between the re-seating of musicians > based on performance as against maintaining the "old guard" in their tenured > positions. Those of you in the "old guard" of an ensemble (Hans! are you > there?) of course enjoy your vested and favored position. Do you think about > how those sitting in lower seats, who may play better, how they feel, or how > better the ensemble would sound with a better principal? Sometimes I have > worked my way up to a principal position, but I maintained the attitude that > I > will only hold that seat as long as I am the best horn player, and when a new > horn player shows up that can play better and has established loyalty and > demonstrates reliability, then I will volunteer my seat to him. I know this > isn't the way amateur groups generally run, but they would perform better if > more amateur musicians had my attitude. Yes, maybe it > was awkward for Valerie from a tenure-vulnerable position to ask to share in > the prinicipal role. But if she is the better player, the ensemble will > benefit > from her request. I was in an ensemble recently where I told the director in > strong terms that he needed to replace the principal horn; the director took > my > advice and did so, (and no, I didn't ask to be principal since we had another > horn capable of doing the job). Now the horn section sounds much better. > > Regards, > Larry > > > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/hpizka%40me.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
