Klarinet Archive - Posting 000142.txt from 1998/04

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: Re: very young principal cl's
Date: Sat, 4 Apr 1998 15:25:29 -0500

This approach surprises me--especially in the jazz band context. I'm
sure that one can designate the 3d trumpet player as the "section
leader" much the same way that a hockey team picks a "captain." When
you're actually playing the chart, however, this can't possibly be the
case.

I hate to say this--being a reed player and all--but the lead trumpet is
the quarterback of the big band, pure and simple. As a general rule, a
big band with a weak 1st trumpet is a lame band.

To a lesser extent, I have found this to be true of the symphony
orchestra as well--if you want to play Mahler or Bruckner, you'd better
have a great 1st trumpet. A good one can literally carry the entire
wind section; a bad one can ruin an otherwise excellent performance.

Which brings us to the solution to our conundrum of the young principal.
If he or she were not a terrific player, they would not have gotten the
job. Bud Herseth was hired as the principal of the Chicago Symphony
about the same time (and age) that Stanley Drucker joined New York.
Apparently, conductors went out of their way to test the young lad (in
particular Fritz Reiner, who was not a particularly supportinve guy).
Herseth just didn't make mistakes, and played like a demigod--and has
been carrying that orchestra now for half a century.

kjf

----Original Message Follows----
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 14:07:43 -0700 (MST)
From: "Joshua M. Coleman" <joshcole@-----.Edu>
Subject: Re: very young principal cl's

On Fri, 3 Apr 1998, Craig E. Countryman wrote:

> I think that if a person deserves a job he should get it. Still being
a high
> school student, I don't have too much orchestral experience, but just
from my
> own personal experience in other ensembles I can tell you that it
really irks
> me when I am sitting behind someone simply because they are a more
senior
> member of the section, but are not necessarily the best player. If
the older
> member would like to apply for the position then he should, but if he
gets
> beaten by a younger player, the younger player should definitely take
the
> position. If he earns it I see no reason why not.

These are very good points, Craig. However, I do have a couple of
comments of my own to make. True, I agree with you that if a person
deserves and earns a job that he/she should get it. However, in
positions
of leadership (e.g. section leader of a marching band or principal of a
concert band), a very important factor to be considered _IS_ experience.
Take for instance this scenerio: At the end of my sophomore year in
high
school, I was sitting third chair. Our band director then chose section
leaders considering many factors. The principal clarinetist was not
going
to play clarinet for marching season the following year, so that left
(seemingly) the assistant principal and myself as the section leaders.
However, our band director chose the next senior-to-be in line, who was
at
the time sitting about 7th or 8th chair. At first, I was a bit ticked.
But after a few hours of thinking about my band director's decision, I
realized that he had thrown experience into the pot of choosing section
leaders. And I feel that this applies to choosing a principal in a
concert band as well. One must remember, as Mark Charette pointed out,
that experience and leadership abilites must also be strong in a
principal, at least from my own experiences. However, this can be
solved
in a simple way that I have seen being used in NMSU Jazz Bands -- the
lead
player is _not necessarily_ the section leader. For instance, in NMSU
Jazz I, the third trumpet is the section leader, not lead trumpet. In
NMSU Jazz II, the lead tenor is the saxophone section leader, not lead
alto. It could be said that simply because one has great playing
abilites
does not guarantee great leadership qualities.

What are the takes on this approach? I feel that it is a good solution
to
the young principal / older experienced player debate.

Joshua M. Coleman
http://web.nmsu.edu/~joshcole
(Under construction always because I have NO TIME to do anything with
it!)

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to
see it, do the other trees make fun of it?

If an elephant falls, which suffers more: the elephant or the ground?

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