l think the remedy of dealing with under-performing players in an ensemble is to first have the director or the ensemble governing board set up performance standards and a monitoring system of checks. I have been in perhaps a dozen amateur ensembles in the past 11 years, orchestras and bands, and only one of them does this even a slight amount. Some of these groups are sponsored by educational programs such as community colleges, and the course catalogs all say "admittance by audition", and these auditions never happen. Directors seem to be adverse to dealing with performance issues and would rather see them go away on their own.
I have also talked with accomplished musicians who will not join these groups after they ask me about the groups' enforced performance standards (that rarely exist). Since the better musicians never or rarely join, these ensembles are not aware of the musicians they are missing who could upgrade the ensemble. I try to talk to directors about this, particularly in regard to admitting horn players. The approach I have right now is for the director to realize he will get unending comments of wrath from me if he admits a sub-par horn player. I do try to nurture horn players and I try to be tolerant of them when they realize they need to improve and when they work at it. The category of player that gets me upset is the player who doesn't know he plays badly, is arrogant about his position in the ensemble, and seriously degrades the performance of the ensemble. I'm with beginning level players who know their limitations, play softly, and don't ruin the performance. These players are fine to have, even if they shouldn't have been admitted in the first place. Regards, Larry _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
