Great Expectations

First, I would like to thank Drew for asking me to participate in this discussion. When I think back to studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, I remember wondering if I could just win an audition. Scarey thought since I knew great players that hadn’t won an audition. That made me a little nervous, so I decided to test my skills early on.

Fortunately, I had success when I auditioned for the New Mexico Symphony the summer before my junior year. I advanced to the semi-finals, and that alone made me feel like maybe I could make it in the business. One of my teachers had said that if you can make it out of the prelims, then you have all of the basics to win a job. I did wonder how many auditions I would have to take before I won one. One of my teachers in college had told me that he took about 50 auditions before he won his position with the Boston Symphony. I really hoped it wouldn’t take that many auditions for me beacause it took so much time to prepare for the New Mexico audition.

Everyone knows you have to practice a lot to win an audition, but you also have to be smart about your choices. As a student, I always hated to turn down work. I thought that freelancing, if necessary, could be a good alternative to an orchestral career. When I was preparing for the Montreal Symphony’s associate principal horn audition, I got a call for a regular gig, and the first date conflicted with the audition. I almost took the gig because I really didn’t think I would win the audition. Montreal was such a prestigious orchestra and it was the type of job I really wanted. I turned down the gig, and much to my surprise, I won the job.

I took the job with Montreal (of course!), and I grew up really quickly. Playing professional concerts on a regular basis was a big change from school and gigs. Despite all of the hard work and anxious moments, I loved playing the job.

As far as school is concerned, I do wish that NEC would have done more to prepare me for a complete life in music. My horn lessons were exactly what I expected, but the rest of the program was limiting. In my opinion, there was too much theory and solfege. Who really needs an entire semester of species counterpoint? I wished they had spent more time on auditions, or even how orchestras and other musical entities manage in today’s climate. We also played far too little repertoire and spent too long rehearsing for a concert. I never understood why, once and a while, the orchestral program did not try to reproduce a professional orchestra’s schedule.

Before I started playing professionally, it used to bother me to hear musicians complain about their jobs. I felt like they were so lucky to have a job. Now I see how some of the complaints are valid, but I think it’s a balancing act. I never expected to play so many pops, parks concerts, and childeren’s concerts, but they are all crutial to our orchestra’s budget and community relations. It can be really hard to stay positive with some kinds of rehearsals and concerts. I still feel lucky to have my job.

Too much complaining isn’t good for a person or an organization instead I try to participate on committees and stay informorned about the orchestra business. I believe being a member of an orchestra today means more than just showing up and playing your instrument.