Klarinet Archive - Posting 000576.txt from 1998/10

From: "Dee Hays" <deerich@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] The rich get richer
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 23:50:29 -0400

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel A. Paprocki <danbascl@-----.net>
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 1998 8:28 PM
Subject: [kl] The rich get richer

>This is an observation that I've had over a number of years. I welcome
>everyone's opinions. I have noticed that professional clarinetists (ones
>that have a full time position playing or teaching) don't think twice
>about taking extra jobs (part or full time) in their area or out of their
>area that another clarinetist (unemployed or underemployed) could do at
>the same level of expertise. Understand, I'm talking about taking jobs
>that other professional musicians who DON'T have a full time gig could do
>just as well. Is this the right thing to do?
> There are full time professors that take part time playing jobs in
>order to make some extra "fun" money above their main income, a job that
>someone else could use to support themselves. There are full time
>performers who also teach at a college (full time) which leaves one less
>full time job that someone else could live on. So we have one musician
>making two full time incomes - nice, right? The music field is
>overcrowded with competent performers and teachers who have to do
>non-music jobs to just exist. How about a clarinetist who flys accross
>the country just to play in a regional orchestra (no full time members)
>when there are clarinetists within an hour of this orchestra who could do
>an excellent job.
> Is this the right thing to do? What is the feeling out there? We all
>talk about how tough auditions are and that there are dozens of fine
>clarinetists (or other instruments) out there. So why do some people hog
>the gigs? I've heard from other players in other cities with the same
>problems so I think this isn't an isolated problem.

Actually this happens in almost all fields of endeavor. Engineers may hold
part-time professorships or may do consulting work on the side. We have
welders out at the plant (full time) who run a private welding business on
weekends and evenings. Or how about people who's second work is in a
totally different area? Again we have a group of machinist's who play
country western music gigs on Friday and Saturday nights.

Personally, I don't particularly care to pass judgement. I am only
commenting that this nothing new and is not unique to music.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

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