Klarinet Archive - Posting 000276.txt from 1998/08

From: Edmund William White <ewhite@-----.us>
Subj: Re: [kl] Music major priority
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 17:33:55 -0400

On Fri, 7 Aug 1998, Kevin Fay (LCA) wrote:

> This pisses me off.
>
> Not that Ed plays bass--but that his school's orchestra is "only open to
> music majors" (unless, of course, they need *him*).
>
> Seems to me that the money that Ed pays his tuition with is just as
> green--he should be allowed to audition for the "normal" clarinet chairs
> just like anyone else. Most schools don't exclude music majors from history
> classes--a fail to see any good explanation for the converse. IMHO, it's
> just too damn bad if the best clarinet player in the school decides to
> declare a more marketable major, they should get the chair if they win the
> audition.
>
> Some pretty good musicians have managed to make it through school without
> being music majors. Charlie Neidich has a spiffy degree in Anthropology
> from Yale (where, incidentally, he was given an award for something like
> "outstanding senior musician" without having taken lessons from K.
> Opperman). Kenny Gorelick, a classmate of mine from the good old U of W
> (Kenny G to most of you), is a CPA--which may help explain why he is, if not
> the most talented saxophone player on the planet, certainly the richest.
>
> kjf
>
>
My situation with the university orchestra is interesting
because I was sought out when the department realized that they would no
longer have to *force* their precious soprano clarinet players to play
bass. Fine. I'm a much more accomplished bass clarinetist than soprano
player. However, I was hoping to begin my university playing experience
with lessons because I've not had a private teacher before. That is,
until I was told that non-clarinet majors
couldn't take lessons with the professors OR the grad students. There
were not enough spaces available to accommodate even the people who WERE
majoring. Ouch. How can a non-major keep active? While a considerable
amount of my time will be devoted to my studies, I can't negate the fact that
I have been playing clarinet for ten years. Some of the best musicians I
know are also gifted in the fields of mathematics and science (Isn't there a
high correlation between scientific method/mathematical reasoning and musical
ability?). Why don't we get the same opportunities?

Ed White
ewhite@-----.us

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