Innocents Abroad

My advice to a young musician considering working over here would be to keep an open mind, be flexible and work hard. For me, life here has generally worked out well. I consider myself fortunate to be here. In retrospect, I believe that I happened to be in the right place at the right time. This happened because I took advantage of the opportunites that presented themselves.

Keeping an open mind is something that I consider to be important. It is better to not be weighed down by excess baggage of preconceptions or rely too much on hearsay. Make your own judgements based on your own experience. It is also wise to accept the situation as it is here and not try to think of making any earth-shaking changes. I have known unhappy Americans here and in Italy, some of whom never accepted life the way it is here on its own terms.

As I mentioned in one of the previous postings, I think it is essential to try your best at mastering the language. I made a point of trying only to converse in German, even with colleagues whose English wasn’t bad. There are many Germans who like to speak English and I know of one musician from China whose German is still rudimentary because he relies too much on English. Language is the key to integration.

As with any audition, it goes without saying that you have to be very well prepared and at the top of your game. Since the reunification, there are many candidates for each posiiton, many quite talented musicians form Eastern Europe. The competition is intense and the standards are high.

For some positions- clarinet, trumpet, double bass, -there are differences between the instruments or techniques used here which could be a problem. Musicians playing those instruments should inform themselves first as to the requirements here. In general the concert pitch is higher in Europe. Officially our “A” is 443 but I think it is even higher.

Probably it would be better to try first for the bigger orchestras in larger cities. In general, their future is more secure than orchestras in smaller towns.

I hope these observations are of some use to young musicians contemplating a move across the Atlantic.