 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: VTC
Date: 2000-07-05 22:09
Has anyone considered a career as a clarinetist outside of being a school/private lesson teacher? The idea would probably sound appealing to most clarinetists, but would the pay be sufficient to make a living on? One can always hope to be part of the renowed symphonies, but the auditions are very difficult and opportunites are small. From what I've heard, there is just a very minimal field out there for clarinetist to make good money in. But maybe I'm wrong... So how much pay can a clarinetist expect on the off chance they do make it to their big break? And on the more realistic side, solo careers do not work well for clarinets. So what is there to do that would be able to make a living on without having to get a second job?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-07-05 22:51
VTC wrote:
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So how much pay can a clarinetist expect on the off chance they do make it to their big break?
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There's figures published in the musicians' union paper. Perhaps someone can find out the salaries for the top 20 orchestras. I do know that a major symphony player, if you include private teaching & festivals, can hit the 6 figure mark (USD) here in the US.
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And on the more realistic side, solo careers do not work well for clarinets.
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Let's see. Stoltzman. Daniels. Shifrin. Fountain. Sabine Meyer. Paul Meyer. Benny Goodman. Buddy DeFranco. Peanuts Hucko. Abe Most. At least another 10 or 20 world class soloists that don't spring immediately to mind. Not many compared to violin or piano, but not all that bad considering.
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Author: Kim N.
Date: 2000-07-06 03:07
Whenever I watch TV or movies I hear the clarinet quite often. I've always wondered if it would be hard to get into an orchestra that does that. I think it would be a lot of fun, and possibly a good living. Does anyone know anything about this?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-07-06 03:37
You might want to write to Julie DeRoche of DePaul University. Julie plays/played clarinet in many advertisements.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-07-06 12:26
Most of those well-known classical clarinet soloists are also principal clarinetists with major symphony orchestras. That's an interesting difference between clarinetists and solo violinists or pianists. Among violinists, the position of concertmaster in an orchestra is generally considered a step down from virtuoso soloist. Many of the concertmasters do make solo recordings, but for the most part they don't have the status, even though some of them certainly had what it takes. (Mischa Mischakoff comes to mind.) Violinist Jaime Laredo was a concertmaster before he became so active as a touring chamber musician and soloist, but he's the exception. Very few of the major league concert pianists work full time for an orchestra. For clarinetists, there's so much less touring virtuoso work available that they'd better get an orchestra job, a university position or a heavy-duty teaching schedule if they want to eat regularly.
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Author: Katherine Pincock
Date: 2000-07-06 12:32
There are actually a lot more opportunities for clarinetists than one might think. Take a symphonic player, someone who ONLY wants to play in a classical symphony setting. It's true, only the really reknowned orchestras pop to mind, but many population centres have symphony orchestras, and each of those orchestras requires clarinets. For example, there's an orchestra here in London Ontario that many people won't have heard of, but they play a full season that provides a minimum of two concerts a month from late September to late May. It's true that the smaller the orchestra, the smaller the pay, but even relatively small orchestras generally pay enough to cover basic expenses.
Another venue for clarinetists who want to perform is, as Kim mentioned, film or musical orchestras and bands. If you think of how many plays/musicals/shows are going on in a city like New York, for example, and many of those orchestras require clarinets, that provides more opportunity.
For people who are willing to make the effort required, it's possible to become a part of (or even form) a professional chamber music group, for example the Aeolian Winds quintet based here in London. This group was formed by five friends who wanted to play together, but now they play many concerts, both in London and touring, and they even have a few released CDs.
Now, none of these options will necessarily pay for EVERYTHING, but that doesn't mean you have to get a second job outside music. A city that has both an orchestra and a university music program will often make both jobs essentially one position (officially or unofficially); university lessons are a bit different from private lessons because you don't have to seek out the students yourself, which is one of the harder things about private teaching. As well, if you have a reasonably strong background in theory of history, you may also be able to teach a class or two. Another possibility is composition; many composers start out writing small pieces for a group they play in, and branch out from there. Group direction and conducting can also provide a second musical job.
There are lots of possibilities I haven't mentioned or necessarily thought of, but the important thing is that there are opportunities out there if you're willing to look for them. Of course, every musician has to decide if this sort of life is for them--music can be an unstable profession, and some people would rather have more security in their job. But if you're willing to take the time, you can make a good living as a professional clarinetist. Hope these suggestions help!
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Author: Roger
Date: 2000-07-08 08:58
Why would anyone want to introduce the element of 'money' into something of sheer enjoyment and put the stress of making a living into the equation,the enjoyment must be diminished somewhat.The Clarinet or whatever would become the tool of trade and surely that sheer enjoyment aspect would be lost to some degree as we would be playing for a different purpose.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-07-08 15:00
Roger wrote:
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Why would anyone want to introduce the element of 'money' into something of sheer enjoyment and put the stress of making a living into the equation,the enjoyment must be diminished somewhat.
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I guess no one should do what they love as a profession, right? It'd diminish the ejoyment.
Sheesh. This one I can't blieve.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-07-08 19:20
Hey, if somebody will pay for something you love to do anyway, why not? My stained glass studio started out as "just a hobby" until it kinda got out of control. My teacher hired me out of her advanced class. I took a huge pay cut to go apprentice with her, but what a great satisfaction to really learn that trade and later open my own studio. Nothing about the financial aspect of it spoiled the artistic side of the business. Best of all, my customers came to me only because they *wanted* what I did, not because they *had* to have it. I never made much money in stained glass, but OTOH it got me out of investigative research in product liability. I was just about to the "take this job and shove it" point with that anyway. *Nobody* wants to have to hire an investigator for a lawsuit. I worked for the lawyers, not directly for their clients, but of course I was very aware of how sick, injured, unhappy and angry the clients were. There are big satisfactions in trying to do justice and do the best job possible, no matter what the job is, but dealing constantly with such a high level of frustration is very stressful. OTOH, people hire artists and musicians because art and music give pleasure. Nice work if you can get it!
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