Well this is depressing...
Monday, September 7, 2009
Wow it is all doom and gloom for American orchestras these days.... I would highly encourage you to check out this post from bassist Jason Heath's Arts Addict blog.
Also, if you are interested in seeing more of the Bobby McFerrin panel that I posted yesterday, the whole panel discussion from the World Science Festival is available here. It gets a little too neuroscientific for my tastes, but if you are into that sort of thing, it might be right up your alley. And since Bobby McFerrin is my new hero, I watched it.
We had our first professional development for my job as a teaching artist a few days ago. I have tons of things on my mind concerning arts education, and I'm trying to come up with my year-long plan. If any of you have any resources for kids songs about learning names, I'd love to hear 'em!
Oh, and Happy Labor Day.
Posted byL. at 9:45 AM 0 comments
Labels: economy, education, orchestras
World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.
Posted byL. at 10:59 AM 0 comments
I came, I saw, I... got my check back
Hello Reader(s)!
And now for the exciting conclusion to my previous post on my personal audition policies. Or at the very least, a play-by-play of the audition.
So I showed up-- had I not been talking to my friend who just moved to Philly on the way up there, I might have just turned around. As it was, the conversation kept me distracted enough that by the time our conversation was over, it was too late to turn back.
I showed up and recognized a few people, which was good. I didn't want to have to sit in misery-- since I wasn't taking the audition terribly seriously, I thought it best that I catch up with some friends I haven't seen in awhile. As a general rule, I'm not too chatty at auditions. I'm there to win a job, not friends. The inevitable conversations or friendly chatting is alright with me, but sometimes I see people who can't distinguish the audition from the social event after it is over. But I digress. This time, I didn't mind being social. I wasn't there to win, I just wanted my check back.
Even though it was after 9 pm, they were still running late. I finally played my first round, though-- exposition of Mozart 4, Mahler 1 (the low thing in the 4th horn), and the opening call of Beethoven 7 (first horn.) Here's what I appreciated about this list: It was very short. Here's what I didn't appreciate about this list: Popping out pedal Fs and then having to play high B's not even a minute later is not cool. Auditions are usually completely unrealistic-- first of all, it is REALLY rare that you would have to play alone on a stage. Second, you would never have to play Mozart 4, Tchaik 5, Til, Mahler 3, and Tchaik 4 on the same concert. Again, I digress.
So from the first round, they were taking people into consideration for both principal and 4th horn. I advanced for both jobs. Now, regardless of being offered a job or not, I'd like to remind you that I can only make it to exactly one of their five concert series this year, and I have no intention of playing with the orchestra. I decided to play the second round and see.
Second round began with 4th horn. I played a very short Haydn excerpt followed by something... I can't honestly remember what.... I guess it went pretty well.
I waited around and played the principal horn second round, which was Til followed by a Prokofiev excerpt. It was a little underinspired, but it wasn't awful.
When we had finally all played, the personnel manager told us that he would EMAIL US the results. While this is a little nonstandard, it should be mentioned that it was 11 pm, and at least they didn't make us play again. However, I'd like to go on record right now that if that was the audition time that they had, then they should have made us play another round if they thought it was necessary to declare ONE winner. I looked for the personnel manager to tell him to take me out of consideration, as I'm only available for one show this year, but he was nowhere to be found and I wasn't about to bust into the hall where they were deliberating.
By the time I got home (after midnight), there was an email waiting for me telling me that there were two "finalists" for each job and an alternate. I was a "finalist" for the 4th horn job. They wanted each of us to play a concert series with the orchestra and THEN they would decide who they wanted. The alternate was "in case they couldn't fulfill their duties." So I wrote back to the personnel manager and politely told him that there was no way in hell I could make it work, and they would be better off asking the alternate to "fulfull my duties."
I think it is incredibly important for an orchestra to try out candidates in the context of the orchestra, but that is for orchestra that play more than SIX WEEKS A YEAR and that pay more than $2000 a year. If this ensemble can't make their minds up, they need to revise their committee, set clearer standards, and stop being wishy washy. Two finalists? Really?
At least I got my deposit check back.
Posted byL. at 10:05 AM 0 comments
Labels: auditions
Audition Policies
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
So I have these policies for myself for auditions--
1) Don't go to an audition for which I am not prepared. To me, at this point, there is little reason to go to an audition if I'm not going to prepare for it. "Winging it" doesn't really teach me anything except how well I can wing it.
2) Don't go to an audition where, if you were to win, you have no intention of taking the job. First off, I am not so competitive that I have to win just for the sake of winning.* Second, it wastes everyone's time-the committee, the other auditionees, those running the audition- everyone.
3) Don't go to an audition "for the experience." I'm nearly 30. I have been to countless auditions. I don't need "the experience" anymore.
So I'm going to an audition tonight that violates pretty much all of my rules for myself. I'm completely unprepared because my friend got married this past weekend and I didn't pick up my horn for a few days, let alone think about excerpts. I have no intention of taking this gig even if it was miraculously offered to me-- it is quite far, not a good orchestra, and has tons of conflicts with gigs I already have lined up for the season. And the reason I decided to go was so that I could ramp myself up for an audition in October that I'm incredibly excited about. Essentially, I'm just going for the experience.
So why go, you ask? Well, the cancellation date was the 21st of August and I want to get my deposit check back or I'll have to forfeit $50. It is September, there's not much work this month, and I can't really afford to suck up that much money. So I'll drive the hour, get my check, and, well, I might as well take my horn and see what happens....
But I don't think it'll be good...
*That is a lie. I like winning. Who doesn't?
Posted byL. at 10:39 AM 2 comments
Labels: auditions, Freelancing
Getting BACK to Brass Tax
Monday, August 31, 2009
So I let the blog go. (Lets face it, so did most of you.) But I have been meaning to pick it back up, particularly as the summer draws to a close and the school year is about to begin again, I have a lot on my mind. I've been spending time thinking about the divide between art and entertainment, how to best teach kids music, songs of social justice, auditioning for orchestras, the accessibility of opera, and how to beef up my high range.
And I've also been thinking about how I am going to leave my mark on the world. If I was going to win a big job, lets be honest, it probably would have happened by now. And some days, I'm not even sure why I want an orchestra job. Freelancing has its advantages, especially for someone like me who doesn't feel particularly attached to the idea of a steady income or benefits. (Not that I'd turn either down, but I'm doing okay so far, right?)
And teaching is great, but I far prefer the moniker of "teaching artist" to that of "music teacher." And while I enjoy the one-on-one interaction of teaching horn lessons, lets face it: horn students aren't exactly busting down the door.
I have visions of starting my own chamber group, but finding the right people proves to be a problem a lot of the time. Music is rarely the problem-- it usually boils down to personality conflicts.
So I want to start a podcast. And I've actually recorded a few, I just need to get myself together to learn how to post such a thing. As it turns out, I know lots of cool people who like to talk about the various stuff they do. My friend A. is my first guest-- he's an incredibly talented music teacher in the Pittsburgh area. And he tells a funny story about people who dress up like furry animals. (It's a little off topic but I laughed.) My next guest is J., who has lots of information about what it is actually like to serve on various orchestra committees. (Some of it is very interesting, and some of it, as you might guess, is a bit dry.) But here's the thing: Not a lot of this information is out there for those who are looking for it. And I need a side project, so podcasting it is! (Just as soon as I figure out how to post it...)
But I'm thinking that if I put it out here for you to see, maybe y'all will badger me to actually do it? Maybe I won't make a promise I can't keep? Maybe you'll all listen to it and give me constructive feedback? Maybe I'll make a link to this on my Facebook page and you'll actually know I have a blog? Maybe I'll sign up for Twitter so you can follow me and I'll tell you when I post my new podcasts every week (?). Okay, Twitter might be a bit ambitious. Maybe not. We'll see.
So what do you want to know?
Posted byL. at 10:15 PM 2 comments
Labels: Freelancing, podcast, teaching
yes. YOU. can.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I know I've been lax on posting lately, but, ironically, that's a post for a different time.
I've been doing a lot of teaching. Not teaching the privileged white suburbanites, but teaching the underprivileged inner-city kids. In North Philadelphia and Camden (which I affectionately refer to as "East Philadelphia.")
Lets be blunt: I teach black kids.
So tonight, for the first time in my life or theirs, I can look them in the eye and tell them that they can be anything they want to be when they grow up.
They can be a teacher or a musician; a firefighter or a florist; a cop or a stockbroker.
Or hell, kids, you can be president. Yes we can!? No:
Yes YOU can.
You can be anything you want to be. And I can look you in the face as a white girl and mean it. With evidence to back it up.
Posted byL. at 12:45 AM 1 comments
Labels: teaching
New Freelancing Rules
Saturday, July 19, 2008
I know, I know, its been, like, a million years since I last blogged. Maybe some of you are even still reading. Anyway, things have been going well here in the Illadelphia. Basically, I have nothing to complain about except the blistering heat. But everyone's complaining about that, so I don't have to. And anyway, I have an air conditioner in my room so even that complaint doesn't really hold that much water. And I could complain about gas prices, too, but everyone's doing that, too, so the best I can do is put on my walkin' shoes and not get in my car whenever possible.
I read an article on Jason Heath's Bass Blog a few weeks ago titled "Twelve Tips for Freelance Musicians." Its a great article and I basically agree with everything on there, but I do have a few things to add that might seem like no-brainers, but came in SERIOUSLY handy recently.
1) Keep your gas tank full. Or, at the very least, never let your car get to the point where you are "running on fumes." Personally, I just hate stopping at the pump. I hate all the money I'm pouring into my gas tank, and I don't like taking the time out of my day. (Luckily, I drive through New Jersey a lot where it is illegal to pump your own gas!) But I have been known to get into those sticky situations where I'm driving around frantically hoping to find a gas station before I run out of gas. I also frequently get home at night, notice the gas tank is painfully low and say "I'll just get gas on my way out tomorrow."
So filling your tank serves (at least) two useful purposes: (a) Running out of gas on the way to a gig would seriously suck. (b) If the Philadelphia Orchestra calls you and asks if you can be at the Mann Center in 20 minutes, you don't have to worry about whether your car has gas or not.
2) If your horn needs minor repairs, don't put it off. You don't want to show up with a horn that's buzzing from two broken braces that you just haven't had the time or inclination to take to a competent repair person to have fixed. This sounds a little dumb, but keep your instrument in top condition at all times, even in the summer when you might not be playing as much.
3) Keep your chops in shape. Whatever that might mean for you... If you are one of those lucky individuals who can take two weeks off, then pick up the horn and play the Long Call 14 times in a row, then more power to you. I happen to know that I am not one of those people, though, and I have a fairly long warm-up and "maintenance" routine.
If you are a lucky freelancer who can plan out your schedule for an entire season before it even begins, you can easily see what major works are coming up and you can plan for the kinds of playing that you'll be doing. But if you are still rocking out on the 11:30 a.m. calls that go something like this "Can you be here in 20 minutes?" "Sure!", it is comforting to know that you've been practicing your scales and you're competent enough to play assistant (or 4th, or principal, or kazoo) on anything.
4) Also, if you keep your clothing in a locker at a hall somewhere, make sure that you at least have a backup pair of shoes at home.
I'm going to TRY to blog more often, but its so damn hot its hard to do anything, let alone string words together in sentences. Happy summer, y'all!
Posted byL. at 12:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: Freelancing, gigs
