Driving for Dollars

I have been a freelance violist in Philadelphia since 1988. I went to the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT and then returned to Philadelphia. I grew up in the Philadelphia area where my first and only violin teacher was a freelance musician and teacher, so to me this always seemed like a good plan.

Over the last 20 years I have played in many regional orchestras, chamber ensembles, casinos, and theaters. I also play many chamber music gigs from weddings to recitals. There is some recording work in the area but not as much as in other cities.

I am married to a freelance cellist and between the two of us, we are paying dues to 7 different locals. At times it has been as high as 9 different locals. We usually drive between 1 to 2 1/2 hours for the regional orchestra jobs. The driving for the other work is less. There are many regional orchestras in and around Philadelphia, and sometimes we choose to play the same jobs so we can spend time together, and sometimes we choose to do different jobs, especially if it helps with babysitting costs and other childcare issues.

I teach two and half days a week, during the school day at a private school. I teach violin and viola and I lead a small elementary string ensemble. I also teach one evening a week at the University of the Arts. I teach string methods and a pedagogy class on private teaching. My husband just got his real estate license and has found this to be a great job along with his freelancing.

Since Philadelphia is a good city/area for freelancing, we are lucky to be able to pick and choose what jobs we want to play. Fulfilling minimum attendance requirements is more of an issue for my husband than for me, but it is a problem for many of our colleagues in this area.

Every week is different around here so there is no “typical” week. This week, for instance, I am playing Philly Pops and the concert hall is only 10 minutes from my house. Since I am close to home I am able to squeeze in other gigs around it. On Friday I am playing a memorial service in the morning, a wedding ceremony at 5:00 and then I have an 8:00 concert. Next week I am playing in Harrisburg Symphony. It is 2 hours away (3 in rush hour) and although the symphony provides us with hotel rooms, we will commute the first day of the run, so we will put 220 miles on the car that day. The next day we will fill our van with instruments, suitcases, toys, movies, video games, and our kids, and we will stay in the very glamorous Howard Johnson’s. We both like playing this job and since they give us each a hotel room as well as per diem and wages, it makes the whole “schlepp” worthwhile.

After 8 years as the orchestra committee chairperson of the Harrisburg Symphony I have “retired.” Unlike so many horror stories that I have heard, we players have a wonderful relationship with the management and music director. Because of this relationship our last two negotiations have gone very smoothly. The last contract was negotiated in about 7 hours! I just finished working on the first ever elected Orchestra Committee for the Philly Pops. Although this group has been in existence for over 25 years, it has not functioned as regional orchestras usually do. This was the first time an elected group of musicians, as opposed to an ad hoc committee, worked on the negotiations.

We have the usual concerns/issues that most freelancers have, such as paying for our own health insurance and a huge pile of tax forms, but we also feel lucky to be at a point in our lives where we can just say “no” if we are not interested in a job. Being able to decline work takes away the helpless feeling that many freelancers have.

My favorite part of freelancing is the variety and the friendships related to these jobs. We have made many friends over the years who we only see at one orchestra or another.