It is Time for a Change

This article interests me greatly! I have spent the last twenty-five years in the trenches playing with outstanding small city orchestras and have recently been rejected from even auditioning in North Carolina for lack of EXPERIENCE and EXPERTISE. Never mind that I've been a contracted performer with anywhere from 3-5 orchestras simultaneously for the entire time in locations from Washington DC to Nebraska. My combined seasons generally run as long as the big time orchestras with services numbering anywhere from 150-285. Heaven help me- do I have to turn 90 to have enough experience to qualify for an invitation? The arrogance of the audition committee was evident in the caustic wording of the rejection which included the admonition to respect the judgement of said committee. If I must audition, I am to send $100.00 and contact numbers of two references. Never mind that I included a strong referral from an international star in my resume'. My assistant, a grad student, was invited... so I guess I stayed too long in the trenches- raising my child and paying my dues. This should serve as a warning to those who think they can postpone going after the big gigs right after college. If you wait, it'll be too late.

Hi from New Zealand,on the other side of the world, where the same is true - people just do not believe that a local group can play just as well as a group from Europe. How many people will not even cross the street to support their local group, but go in the music store and pay top dollar for some ensemble from Europe, which will not always be better.

I think it just part of the increased standard of living - we can all travel, we have restaurants of all styles (You probably have an Italian restaurant in your home city that does better food for less cost than many restaurants in Italy.) And if you are in a city with a local music school, you will have an orchestra that enjoys making music, and it a great part of your community.

Since this discusssion is on a Naxos discussion board, perhaps it would be possible to links to audio clips from less well known orchestras.

Thanks for writing, Marko. Your idea is a good one. In fact, I know that the idea of a series of smaller American orchestras in one of our major city concert halls has been discussed among professionals in the past; I have taken part in some of those discussions. The issue always falls down around cost. It is not at all inexpensive to take 80-90 people on the road, and while some orchestras might find a local source for the funding, the question always arises as to whether that is the best use of that funding in the long term interest of the orchestra. There are some smaller orchestras that arrange their own appearance at Carnegie Hall, and present themselves on a rental basis - but the idea of a regular series is going to run into financial barriers that I fear are likely to be insurmountable. That said, I agree it would be a wonderful showcase for those orchestras.

Henry Fogel

Mr. Fogel.

I've enjoyed your reports on various "small" orchestras in recent months. I am not the least bit surprised that you're finding a lot of excellent orchestras out there - indeed I'm surprised that you're encountering people in the music business who have low expectations of the quality of performance out there. Anybody involved in the orchestra world surely knows that even minor orchestras get huge numbers of highly-skilled applicants for open positions these days, and even most graduates from top music schools will be unable to find a good job. These people have to end up somewhere, so it should surprise nobody that many of them populate orchestras in Dayton, Syracuse, Grand Rapids or even many smaller-budget orchestras.

I saw much the same thing when I lived in Montreal for a couple years recently. Of course Montreal had the great Montreal Symphony, but CBC regularly broadcast orchestras from across Canada, and I was amazed at the quality not only of smaller full-time orchestras like the Calgary Philharmonic or Winnipeg Symphony, but even much smaller groups like the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony or Symphony Nova-Scotia. Even Montreal's second orchestra (Orchestre Metropolitain), comprised of local freelancers, while not a match for the OSM, would have done most cities proud.

While this is in many ways a good-news story, it does have a downside: These regional orchestras generally don't pay a living wage, so many of the musicians no doubt aspire to the big-time orchestras, if not for the prestige, then certainly for the financial security.

It would be nice to see more exposure for these orchestras. I've been wondering - concerns of low ticket sales notwithstanding - whether Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Center might start up a "Less than Great American Orchestras" series (obviously with a better title than that), where they would feature some of the excellent, but less-than-major orchestras. Sometimes these orchestras turn up for self-produced vanity concerts. But it would be a different matter entirely for these big institutions to give their imprimatur, with the express intention of impressing upon the public the quality of lesser-known groups that populate the American landscape.

Henry...Thanks again for your fine work as the facilitator with Lincoln's Symphony and guild. Your words of encouragement meant a lot to those who are working so diligently for our fine orchestra. We are so blessed in Lincoln to have a wonderful Maestro and symphony. Your comments at intermission prove that you don't have to travel fifty miles to be an expert! Thanks Again...Dee Tenney

As the Director of Education/Community Partnerships at Indian Hill Music in Littleton, MA where we are a unique hybrid of a national guild music school and a professional orchestra of the kind in this article, I am delighted to see support for the dynamic symphonic music that is being heard outside of the "Big" cities. I guess my question would be when will the grantors begin to see that an orchestra like ours provides symphonic music to people who also might not go to these kinds of events in nearby cities. We are actively sustaining and supporting the continuation of a style of music (of the highest caliber) that seems to be losing ground all over the country. All symphonies and grantors should see the urban sprawl (suburbia) as a valuable artistic hub for the survival of "old" art and the innovation of "new" art for humanity.

Bravo, Henry. Thank you for writing this. Scott Faulkner just forwarded this to the Group 5 & 6 Orchestras. I know that the group is positively reacting to your paying attention to our recent discussion. Hope you are feeling better. We'll get you to Sioux Falls one of these days!