Hi All, A contemporary of mine at college failed to obtain a 1st clarinet post because she needed a choreographer before she could play anything.
The one thing coming out of this topic is how many bad conductors there must be on the US amateur scene to allow this to go on. It must surely be as off-putting for the conductor, but it is his/her job to sort out potential areas of conflict and lead all players towards purposeful work. If the 'tempo' of the rehearsal is unremitting and the work seen to be of value, then there is no time for irritation. Ralph On 3 Apr 2011, at 13:49, Jonathan West wrote: > Hi Martin > > He's a nice guy and a decent player, so you don't want to humiliate > him. But > on the other hand, he does have to get the message clearly and > unequivocally. If subtle hints had an effect on him, then he would > no doubt > have stopped long ago. > > So, I suggest that during the coffee break one rehearsal, you take > him off > to one side, to somewhere where nobody else can hear you. And you > explain, > politely but firmly, how distracting his movements are, and you give > examples (such as the ones you you have described here) of occasions > when it > was seriously annoying. Explain that all members of the orchestra > have a > role, not only in enjoying the music for themselves, but in > promoting that > enjoyment for the other players and for the audience. > > If he expresses disbelief that his movements could distract other > players, > don't get into that discussion. Just say that you find them > distracting, > that you believe other players also find it distracting, and you are > asking > him out of consideration for the other players to find some way of > stopping > it. > > You make it clear that you consider him to be a valued member of the > orchestra, and he will be even more valued if he can stop the extra > distracting movements. > > If that doesn't do the trick, then the next step will have to a > delegation > of players. 3 or 4 speaking to him together with the same message. > > Regards > Jonathan West > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/ralph%40brasshausmusic.com Ralph R. Hall [email protected] Ralph R. Hall http://www.brasshausmusic.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
