Klarinet Archive - Posting 000272.txt from 2003/03

From: Deidre Calarco <dleigh@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] The amateur's dilemma
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 16:04:15 -0500

On 3/6/03 3:47 PM, "Trish Mendenhall" <trishm@-----.com> wrote:

> First of all, ditch the notion that all community bands are "like going back
> to high school". There are some pretty good community bands out there, and
> they're good because good musicians chose to get involved. The band is only
> as good as the group wants and strives to be.

Hey, some high school bands are very good, and so are some community bands.
I wasn't questioning the quality. It's just that our local community band
practices at a local high school, and I think that the high school band
director also conducts the community band. Flashback!! LOL

> Other opportunities:
> Musical theater! If you're flexible, enjoy playing a variety of styles at
> the drop of a hat, and even better, if you double on other woodwinds, there
> is probably at least one community theater in your area who could use you,
> maybe even several shows a year. Some are purely volunteer, some will pay
> expenses, and some will provide some sort of small honorarium. If musicians
> are scarce in your area, it's possible the orchestra even gets paid a bit
> extra :)
>
> Community Colleges - a number of these have bands that are open to skilled
> non-students. You usually have to pay a usage fee of some sort, but it's
> usually pretty reasonable. In general, the caliber of musicians is pretty
> decent - often you're filling out a band that otherwise consists of cc
> students, some of whom are intending to go on in music at the university
> level. It's certainly worth checking into.

Hey, those are excellent ideas! Thanks.

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