Life in the Pit

I have been principal harpist with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra since 1983. I was in graduate school when I won the position. Little did I know that through the years I would serve the orchestra not only as harpist, but as union steward, ROPA delegate, and, at various times, as member of the orchestra committee, music director search committee, artistic advisory committee, and strategic planning session. Additionally, I have chaired several negotiating committees.

Playing in the pit, whether for the ballet or for musical theater is one of my favorite things to do. There is no shortage of challenging music to play. Indeed, the challenge is increased when an already complicated piece of music must be tailored to accompany the dancers. We play for several different casts, and we must be prepared to alter our tempi to provide the support that each dancer needs. One of the things that I find most thrilling about performing in the pit is the feeling of being part of a massive production. There are so many pieces that fit together to form a moving picture for our audience. The dancers, musicians, wardrobe, crew, lighting, props, and set design are all necessary components.

A unique feature of our ballet orchestra is that the musicians, while not the primary “product,” represent the company’s history. The short shelf life of a dancer’s career means that while some members of the orchestra have been there since the Milwaukee Ballet Company’s inception in 1971, we have seen generations of dancers pass through the company. As with any orchestra, we have been through many of life’s rites of passages together. This includes the death of our long time music director, Daniel Forlano, during a rehearsal in 1995.

I was already a member of the union when I became a member of the ballet orchestra. I had joined several years earlier when I was required to do so for another job. When I first joined the orchestra, we had no collective bargaining agreement. I never thought too much of my union membership until I sat on my first negotiating committee. I realized then the power there was in the union of musicians. Over the years the AFM has been there to educate us and provide us with negotiators who have guided us through the increasingly murky waters of negotiating our contracts.

Our biggest challenge is maintaining live music for each series. The orchestra has become increasingly dispensable in the last few years. When I joined the orchestra in 1983 we performed 5 week-long series each season, in addition to a 3 week run of Nutcracker. Last season the orchestra was used for 2 series, and a 2 week run of Nutcracker. A 3rd series which was originally offered to us was reprogrammed and set to taped music.