" why would someone put out a recital if they couldn't really play the stuff? " W.
Why was this individual allowed to perform the recital in the first place assuming, which is a very dangerous word, that this was done in an academic environment ? Maybe someone (the professor in question ?) should have sat down this person and been honest and said something to the effect that maybe doing the recital wasn't the right thing to do at that time. " I laugh at my own mistakes there and some of the errors I committed because I choose to grow and become a better player. I won't let it hold me back, either, and even if a recording of that (it wasn't recorded) was passed around, well that's just more of a chance to impress with something much better." W. Well, there is a big difference between laughing at oneself and becoming the butt of a cruel joke at the expense of others. How would you feel if your recital had been recorded and passed around at an IHS Symposium ? Here there would be your peers, plus world class horn players, and teachers all listening to something that you might want to bury. A thing that can follow one around for many years, no matter how one may vindicate oneself in the future. Think not ? Well, we are still talking about Barry Tuckwell's missed high C in a performance of Villanelle some thirty years later. Jamie Sommerville,principal horn of the Boston Symphony, once was quoted in Boston Globe as saying that if one plays the horn, one should have a sense of humor. I think we agree, and the ability to laugh at oneself is essential for survival, but no one likes being the butt of a cruel joke. "That is why we also must have a sense of humor about some things and not take offense at everything...In fact I will agree, it is unethical" W. I agree that to survive in this world we need to have a sense of humor, but call me old fashioned, but I still take offense at unethical behavior. Today, more than ever, it is my impression that we seem to enjoy the misfortune of others under the guise of humor. "There is no changing the past, but even with bad things that might happen to you if you don't sit back and laugh or at least not let it get to you, you'll just stew in them forever." W. Yeah, I agree there too, but do you think that if the person who played the recital found out about the tape being played for humor at his expense, that he did that ? I agree that we all have to be resilient and be able to bounce back. If we are knocked down, then we have to get up off the floor and keep going. The playwright Samuel Beckett once said something to the effect that if we try and fail, we try again and next time we fail better. William, I am glad that you view this action as being unethical on the part of the professor, and that you can readily laugh off the stings and hurts of living, but I suspect your reaction might be a tad different if you had been the injured party in question. caveat lector Mark L. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 11:14 PM Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Faculty Entertainment (ahem) > Well to be honest the professor was a butthole, and some of us were glad to > see him retire. But you know even I laugh at some of the things I've done in my > practicing and my performances because I have a sense of humor about it. > > Granted what he did with the tape wasn't ethical, but well even some of the > bad things you have to look on the brighter side of life. Of course now, I > would never perform a bad recital or even one where I wasn't prepared enough to > play everything as well as I could. Also, in all honesty look at the other side > of the coin - why would someone put out a recital if they couldn't really play > the stuff? I mean the time comes when you have to cut your losses or play > something simpler. Why walk out on stage playing something you know you cannot > play? > > The first recital I did was almost a joke I will admit, but I was young then, > and very immature as a player.> > Also, if you become really good and record some great things, that will > preclude any previous reputation. I guarantee you if you were awful a few years > ago, and are extremely good and have some outstanding recordings of yourself > people will take notice. Thankfully people change, and most people accept change. > > > > No offense was intended there. I'm not endorsing what that now retired > professor did. However these things happen in > life. If you were offended, just think of it this way - there is a silver > lining to every cloud, and always another side of the coin. > > -William > > In a message dated 10/25/2003 8:55:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > Subj: Re: [Hornlist] Faculty Entertainment (Great Story) *correction* > > Date: 10/25/2003 8:55:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time > > From: <A HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> > > Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> > > To: <A HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> > > Sent from the Internet > > > > > > > > Gotta tell ya, it seems like very cruel humor. If the person who did the > > recital was that particular professor's student, that says very little about > > his professionalism as an educator or effectiveness as a teacher. To make > > fun of someone like that just doesn't strike me as cool. How would you feel > > if you had a bad performance and it became a joke tape to pass around ? > > > > Music biz is hard and cruel enough without making someone the laughingstock > > of a trumpet symposium. No matter what steps were taken to guarantee > > anonymity, there is always someone there who knows who the person is. In all > > probability I'm sure it got back to the person who performed on the tape. > > These things usually do. > > > > I find this thread both sad and disappointing. My two euros. > > > > Mark L. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > set your options at > > http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/mloutti056%40net1plus.com > _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
