Klarinet Archive - Posting 000489.txt from 1998/11

From: "Carl Schexnayder" <carlsche@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet playing and fever
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 13:29:42 -0500

Hi Teri,

Yes, the point you made is well taken! Ididn't mean to infer that there
were no others on the planet who felt they same type of obligation in regard
to their work! My father was an M.D. He left for work every morning at
about 6:00 A.M. and returned home in the evenings around 9:00 or 10:00.
Very often, during the middle of the night, he was called out to make a
house call! Yes, I know that there are others who take their
responsibilities very seriously, The point I hoped to make, however, was
that the general public, (as far as I can tell), does NOT think of musicians
as terribly dedicated people, which brings up another point,,,,,,,,When I
was in college, I always had to take flack from people in engineering or
pre-med or pre-law, etc., who said the music was a crip course. I was
majoring in music composition. At the beginning of my freshman year, there
were about 50 other freshmen who said they were majoring in composition. By
Christmas, the number was down to about 25. During the next three years,
more and more dropped out of composition until, when I graduated, it turned
out that I was the only one left! When I was teaching, there was the drama
person who wanted to know who he could take piano lessons from. He said
that he thought he'd take piano for three or four weeks so he could learn
enough to be able to play through the scores to the musicals!!! When I was
"only" a musician, I was a bum, but as soon as I became a teacher, I was
suddenly respectable! I could go on and on, but the fact that musicians,
(and especially serious musicians), don't get much respect in American
Society has always bothered me!!
My oldest son sat first chair in his college band and received the top brass
performer award. The boy who sat next to him, (both on Euphonium - another
respected instrument), was from Japan. He returned to Japan and promptly
became a celebrety as a Euphonium Soloist!! So, it wouldn't have to be that
way and it isn't in other countries - countries where ther don't think of Fa
ts Domino as an "Artist"!!!!!!!!!?????????

Well, Back Off The Box,
Carl Schexnayder
>In a message dated 11/12/98 9:56:30 AM Eastern Standard Time,
>carlsche@-----.net writes:
>
><< No, it's not like other fields, (this from observation), it
> is, at least to me and many other musicians, more important! >>
>
>You make some very good points, but please do not lump everyone else into a
>less dedicated stereoptype. My husband is not a musician, but always drags
>his sick butt into work. His colleagues depend on him, and when he is not
>there they suffer, and the work does not get done. There is no
"substitute"
>they can call to replace him, either. His vacations are planned extremely
>carefully around projects (as we have to do around gigs). He comes home,
>takes strong doses of cold medicine and passes out in bed so he can get up
and
>do it again the next day.
>
>I think once you are at the top of many professions, this same
responsibility
>comes, not just for good musicians.
>
>Teri Herel
>
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