Brought to you this hour by

Advertising and Web Hosting on Woodwind.Org!

Doublereed Archive - Posting 000097.txt from 2003/02

From: PEM <oboe@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] freshman principal oboist
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 11:29:04 -0500

When I'm not playing principal I don't bring my tuner. Period. It's not
something I have to bother with, so it stays home, and I prefer not to
'rescue' people constantly (Yes, I've had players ask to borrow mine too!).
No one has ever asked to borrow my knife, but I'd do it maybe a few times.
After that I'd just suggest that that individual use his or her own; you
could suggest that you don¹t want to sharpen your knife just now and you'd
prefer to keep it ready for any work you need to do. I also, however, leave
my knife inside my briefcase. I simply don't like to work on reeds during
rehearsals. I save it for home work.

As to dealing with immaturity. Welcome to the world! I don't mean to sound
flippant, but I've played in a lot of orchestras and there have been 50 year
old children sitting next to me. People who come in at the last minute.
People who whine and aren't prepared. It is up to the conductor to deal with
issues like this, imo.

The worst thing to deal with, I think, is animosity. It's absolutely no fun
at all to not be on speaking terms with your colleagues. I tend to ask
myself "Is this worth the pain of an argument?" and also "Is this my problem
or his/hers?" I also try to remind myself of what my "job" is; is it my
responsibility to "grow someone up"? Not really. It's my responsibility to
play well. To come prepared and on time. To do the best I'm capable of
doing. And to get along with others. But I'm a peace at all costs sort of
person ... that does occasionally come back to haunt me!

What about speaking with the conductor(s)? Is that a possibility? You are
frustrated. They (he/she) might be as well ...?

Sorry you're dealing with such an uncomfortable problem. Not fun at all, I
know. Been there. Done that. Not fun!

Best to you--
Pm