Orchestra Life

Too Much, Too Soon?

Apr 29 2006

Janet Horvath, Minnesota Orchestra’s Associate Principal cellist and author of Playing (less) Hurt – An Injury Prevention Guide For Musicians, has agreed to excerpt parts of her wonderful book for polyphonic.org.

Janet’s first column addresses the issue of young players and whether hours of playing (repetitive action) can damage developing muscles and bones. She presents some basic rules to prevent overuse injuries, and offers sound advice to teachers and parents.

Janet goes on to discuss ergonomic issues, such as choosing the right-sized instrument and accessories (shoulder pads, chin rests, etc.), and sitting correctly. Jaw pain is a frequent complaint of violinists and violists, and Janet has many suggestions for dealing with it.

Finally, Janet presents an Injury Susceptibility Quiz, which can help you determine if you are at risk for a playing injury.

Polyphonic.org is very pleased that Janet has agreed to share her wealth of knowledge with all of us through our website. Check back often for additions to Janet’s column.

Apr 06 2006

Bill Hunt is a violinist with the Rochester Philharmonic, and he’s also a professional tax accountant, specializing in tax returns for musicians. We’ve asked Bill to present a column of tax tips specifically geared to the orchestra musician.

His first installment explains a little-known tax category, the “qualified performing artist,” that could save you some money if you’re just starting out on your symphonic career, or if you’re playing with several orchestras while still a student. Bill clearly explains who can take advantage of this tax status.

Apr 06 2006

Dr. Alice Brandfonbrener needs no introduction to many orchestra musicians – she is arguably “the” pre-eminent physician in the field of music medicine. She is on the faculty of Northwestern University Medical School and is the founder of the Medical Program for Performing Artists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where she edits the journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists.

Samantha George and I asked Dr. Alice to write an overview of some of the medical symptoms encountered by instrumental musicians, and how one goes about finding the good specialized care required by musicians. The good news is that a lot of our problems will go away by themselves, but Dr. Alice has a lot of excellent advice about self-diagnosing our problems.

She warns us about “diagnosis by stand partner” and the reliability (or lack thereof) of medical information you can find on the Internet, and discusses some alternative care approaches. In summary, she asserts that diagnosing musicians’ medical problems requires “a unique combination of medical skill and musical knowledge” and offers suggestions of where to find such care.

This is a must-read article for all instrumentalists!

Apr 04 2006

“Young people are ignorant” and “old people don’t listen” are two stereotypes which persevere in the rank and file of orchestra musicians too often. Even though some stereotypes can be rooted in truth, Richmond Symphony violinist Tim Judd is proof that young musicians aren’t all ignorant.

As a musician who isn’t even a full season beyond his 20’s Tim has been with the RSO since 2002 and began serving on committees and actively participating in other sponsored professional development activities shortly after his arrival. During that time, he has come to realize that being a productive member of his orchestra includes more than just being a good musician.

After reading his contribution, I think you’ll agree that Tim’s perspective on the business demonstrates an understanding which exceeds his tenure. The rationalization behind his belief that having the musicians act with a collective will is a key component of effective institutional stewardship will leave you thinking about whether or not the musicians in your own organization communicate well enough to accomplish this task.

Any orchestra would be fortunate to count among its ranks a young musician who has such a conscientious understanding of their professional responsibilities as does Tim.

Apr 04 2006

Have you found yourself in the position of being asked to put together an ensemble performance with some of your orchestra colleagues for in-school performances or a community outreach program, and not quite knowing how to go about it?

It was almost ten years ago that Yvonne Caruthers, National Symphony cellist, first met Gary Race, a consultant who was working with the NSO Education Department to develop their education and community outreach programs. She was very impressed with the work he did to get them started. So when I asked her to solicit articles about outreach programs, it was natural that she should turn to Gary to write down the approach he’d used with the NSO. Gary credits his extensive experience with the Head Start program and developing outreach programs for several opera companies for his expertise in this area.

Gary has written an excellent three-part series, leading orchestra players through the process of putting together an educational or outreach ensemble program. The first installment, Ideas, lays some ground rules and describes the first meetings, where players take on various roles (such as the Idea Stimulator and the Conversation Director) to get those ideas rolling. He goes on to present a list of questions the group can discuss to help put together an agenda. The goal is to generate enough ideas that, at the second meeting, the group can write a script for their performances.

Stay tuned for his next two installments: Part II: Preparation and Scripting(already posted), and Part III: Rehearsal and Performance (coming in July).

Apr 01 2006

Did you ever wonder what happens behind the scenes to get your music on your stand in time for (or in your possession a few weeks before) the first rehearsal?

Karen Schnackenberg, Chief Librarian of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, will reveal all her librarian secrets. Karen was a violinist with the New Orleans and Oklahoma Symphonies, and wrote a column about classical music for the International Musician for many years.

Karen has agreed to write a column, and solicit articles from her librarian colleagues, about all aspects of being an orchestra librarian. Karen is quite active in MOLA (Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association) and already has several of her colleagues working on some of the topics she lists in her introduction.

Karen’s first article, “Who Is That Orchestra Librarian?,” addresses that most annoying question asked of orchestra librarians: “Are you a musician?” She explains emphatically that, of course, orchestral librarians are musicians and goes on to extol their many talents and skills. After reading Karen’s article, you should have a whole new perspective on your own orchestra’s librarians.

Mar 31 2006

Have you ever stood in front of a room full of very young children, wondering how on earth to engage them with your instrument? Well, help is here!!

Paul Silver, violist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, works with pre-school children at the Cyert Center for Early Education in Pittsburgh. Paul offers tips and suggestions for how to prepare a session for very young children. He lists some of the tunes he has found to be effective, describes some of the interactive techniques he uses (such as call-and-response), and even includes examples of some of his interactive tools (thanks to Ron Krentzman, Harford Symphony’s librarian, for setting these examples). After reading Paul’s article, you’ll feel much better prepared, and hopefully more comfortable, when performing for young kids.

Mar 22 2006

“You know, you’re a first class jerk. A real idiot.” A phrase heard by just about every musician who has sat in a principal chair, served on a committee, or performed the duties of a local union officer. Often, those comments are laced with colorful metaphors designed to drive home the impact of the message.

Nevertheless, Utah Symphony principal flute and President of Local 104 AFM, Erich Graf, appears to have developed a system for how best to deal with these events when he writes, “..the most significant caveat for ongoing survival and success is to learn not to take people and their actions personally. In this workplace, diplomacy is the recipe for success.” As we all know, you don’t learn how to be diplomatic at conservatory so how, exactly, did Erich arrive at this seemingly Zen-like philosophy?

Give his article a read and you’ll begin to understand that if a player gets to the point where they realize there’s more to being an orchestra musician than just playing, how they cross that threshold can make the difference between satisfaction and disillusionment. Erich’s contribution is an enjoyable read and one which I know will leave you full of introspection about where you are in your career, how you got there, and where you plan to go.

Mar 22 2006

Yvonne Caruthers, cellist with the National Symphony, interviewed her colleague Holly Hamilton about using music to work with special-needs children. Holly’s son began working with the Tomatis system, which greatly helped his speech – the experience got her involved in working with these children.

She offers some invaluable advice about what to expect when playing for special-needs kids, what kind of music she plays for them, and how to deal with situations that might make you uncomfortable. She includes several heart-warming stories of the children’s reactions to her playing.

Mar 22 2006

More and more orchestras are employing musicians as educators in addition to their traditional role as performers. Educational services range from small ensembles playing in the classroom to entire orchestras taking up residence in a community for several weeks. And musicians have just as many reactions to being asked to serve as educators through the orchestra as there are different educational services being offered by the orchestra.

In this thoughtful article, Yvonne Caruthers, cellist with the National Symphony, explores the history of orchestra-musicians-as-educators and discusses the role of musicians in their community. She offers many insights into the residency programs the National Symphony have been doing since 1992, and describes how she and her colleagues learned to find their own niche (with lots of surprises along the way) in the wide variety of services offered during a typical residency, matching their own strengths with the opportunities available.

Too Much, Too Soon?

Beneficial Tax Treatment for Qualified Performing Artists

Things Are Seldom What They Seem

Moving Beyond The Music: Why An Orchestra Musician’s Job Is Not Over After The Last Note

Getting The Show On The Road, Part I: Ideas

Orchestra Librarian Column Introduction

Playing For Young Children (Infants, Young and Older Toddlers, 4 Year Olds)

Defining Self and Mind

Performing for Special-Needs Children – An Interview with Holly Hamilton, NSO Violinist

Orchestra Players as Educators: A Brief History