Klarinet Archive - Posting 000245.txt from 2004/04

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Cincinnati Clarinet Professor
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 14:47:14 -0400


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Patricia A. Smith [mailto:arlyss1@-----.net]=20
>=20
> It sounds as if even=20
> had you had=20
> Darth Vader for your private teacher at Eastman, you could=20
> not have gone=20
> wrong there!

Funny you say that, because I had chaos regarding teachers for my first =
2
years there... 6 or 8 weeks into my freshman year Peter Hadcock, my =
teacher
passed away suddenly of a heart attack. Talk about a crazy situation.

Also, don't get me wrong... Eastman was a great school, but like any =
place
you may go, it certainly had its issues. It is a very intense =
atmosphere.
That combined with the horrible weather that kept it dark, cold and =
dreary
for most of the year and by the time I left there, I was a pretty bitter =
and
jaded musician. It took coming back to LA (studying at USC) for me to
realize that music was fun again... =20

I used some of the skills I gained in college and set up my recording
business again and also started a contemporary music ensemble. That
combined with studying with Mitchell Lurie, who is probably one of the =
most
positive people I've met, really turned my attitude about music around. =
He
actually convinced me that the most important thing was to enjoy what I =
did
and he saw the recording as being my real love (something that I had =
always
denied to myself). He helped my maturity as a player but also really =
helped
me find my way in this stupid business...
=20
> You are, of course, right about this, Ben. And,=20
> unfortunately, too many=20
> places do not offer these other benefits. Something I've overlooked=20
> when answering before, was, "What is most important to this=20
> young man?" =20
> Is it the one-to-one relationship with his teacher? Or is it=20
> availability of a variety of learning opportunities in music?=20
> Or is it=20
> yet something else, such as, availability of opportunities=20
> for obtaining=20
> a license to teach music, or become a registered music=20
> therapist? =20

To me, while this is very important, there are so many issues that come =
into
play. Face it, even under the best of circumstances, the numbers are
against you when it comes to pursuing a career as a performer. Ignoring =
all
the people out there already, there are probably 10 times as many
clarinetists graduating from major music schools every year as there are
jobs that open up.

That majority of people out there are NOT going to be earning their =
living
sitting in an orchestra out there. To ignore other aspects of a subject
that we obviously all love is stupidity. There is a major need out =
there
for trained musicians to be sitting in areas of influence- whether it is =
as
music publicists, educators, lawyers, administrators, recording =
engineers,
etc... AFAIK, Eastman is one of the only schools in the US that takes =
this
sort of realist approach to training its musicians.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Freelance Clarinetist and Recording Engineer
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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