Klarinet Archive - Posting 000133.txt from 2001/01

From: "Marcia S. Bundi" <mbundi@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Band Clarinetists
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 20:53:35 -0500

In some ways, I feel like this about the paid summer band that I play in.
We play a lot of the same stuff summer after summer, and it has cost the
band the services of *a lot* of musicians who get sick and tired of the
same old thing all the time. All I can suggest is for you and others in
the group to lobby for something different -- not all the time, but *at
least* once per concert. While the audience does like some
predictability, I think we need to give them exposure to the different to
keep them interested, too. Their level of expectation can be surprising,
especially with all the other exposure to different kinds of music
they/we all get on a day-to-day basis. (Leaving aside for the moment the
discussion of the quality of a lot of it!)

Our audiences have been diminishing a bit (and this is a free concert for
them); I think the addition of new music will really perk them up. It may
be hard for a group to come up with the funds to purchase new pieces, and
this needs to be taken into consideration. We borrow from the school
system and from individuals to supplement our regular stuff; there's a
lot in this collection we don't play, mainly because the director tends
to forget what's all in those filing cabinets. And as soon as I and
another member finish up the cataloging and filing of this and of the
100-year-old library that has accumulated over the course of this band's
history, we'll be getting *a lot* of different stuff to play! (Not to
mention the reciprocal value it has in repaying the school system in
kind.)

Good luck!

Marcia
Great Falls, MT

On Wed, 03 Jan 2001 14:14:29 -0500 Donna Higgins <Donna@-----.com>
writes:
>snip<
>The experience of playing real symphonic band literature with a
>top-notch ensemble
>might well cause me to change my opinion. Unfortunately, I will
>probably never
>have such an opportunity. My band plays dumbed-down arrangements of
>old warhorses
>(Rossini, von Suppe, etc.), and lots and lots of medleys that wouldn't
>be a
>challenge for any halfway decent high school group. I could go the
>rest of my
>life without hearing another medley, and it wouldn't be long enough!
>The
>consistent excuse is that that's what the audience wants to hear, and
>that they'd
>be scared off by works that are too "different" or unfamiliar. Which
>I think is a
>load of garbage, but that's another discussion entirely.
>
>This group has had problems keeping not only clarinet players, but
>other sections
>as well, because the selection of music is so consistently mediocre.
>I tried to
>quit once, but the clarinet section leader begged me to come back, and
>I felt so
>guilty about quitting that I did. :-)
>
>I will say one positive thing about the band - it's given me some
>exposure to
>jazz, swing and other musical styles that I wouldn't encounter in the
>orchestra.
>
>- Donna

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