Klarinet Archive - Posting 000697.txt from 2001/11

From: Mark B <markbmtl@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] re: so you want to do this for a living
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 03:53:31 -0500

Wow, how strange.

You know, of course it's hard to make a living as an
orchestral player, and of course the statistics show
it's highly unlikely any of us won't....but
so....what?

I have one dream in my professional life, and that is
to play in a professional orchestra at least once.
So, I should stop because odds are I won't? No! I'll
work harder so that odds are I will, and so that i can
BEAT that 9,850 that won't get my job. I'm forever
aware that odds are I'll end up not doing so
well....but it really doesn't matter. Keep at it and
it might be as satisfying to me as actually playing in
an orchestra.

At McGill they have a course that is required for all
first year performance majors called "Life As A
Professional Musician." And what I have learned is
that, at least in Canada, there are jobs available.
You have to look for them, you have to make
connections, you can't just practice. A successful
musician must also be an entrepreneur.

As for me...I might not make it to a big time
professional orchestra...I just want to play around
people who know what there are doing. Be it the
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Symphony Orchestra, i Musica
in Montréal, or whatever....I am just going to keep
looking and trying and doing what I can to get the
money. The odds of being a pro should never stop
somone from trying, but it should stop someone from
forgetting about the necessities of survival.
Everything's game as a musician, and that doesn't
exclude orchestral playing.

Music business and music performance should be a
required double major.

Yours,
Mark

--
Mark A. Bradley
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec

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