 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: R13A
Date: 2003-05-02 04:42
Earler this week, The TSO held auditions for Principal Clarinet.
Approximately 55 clarinetists auditioned.for teh 2 finalists was The Bartered Bride and Scheherazade.
The music
The 2 finalists were a young lady, a student of Larry Combs and Fred Orman .
The winner was a young man, a Doctorate student at USC and a student of Michele Zukovsky and Kalman Block.
The salary for the position is $21,500.
The deciding factor was how the Woodwind Quintet responded with each clarinetist. The winner had better articulation and better use of nuances.
Sorry, I don't know his name but he left in a big hurry for a plane back to LA.
regards
dennis
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2003-05-02 16:50
cyso_clarinetist wrote:
> Another example of how USC and UM students are winning the
> auditions...
Huh? What are you talking about? Yes, quite a few USC students have won jobs(including some big ones) lately, but that's a bizarre statement to make.
I assume you know about every audition in the last several years and who won when making a statement like that.
Besides, even at schools from which winners come are many other clarinet majors who never crack the first round of an audition.a
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2003-05-02 17:31
"...The salary for the position is $21,500..."
Which works out to $413 a week....or $82.60 a day...or approximately $10 an hour based on an 8 hour day.
Isn't it sad that this is the remuneration for achieving such a high degree of mastery on your instrument?
Granted, living in Tuscon is not as costly as living in NYC, but am I the only one not overwhelmed by this salary?...GBK
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bradley
Date: 2003-05-02 21:36
Wow- $21,500
I guess I am spoiled or w/e- but thats a little over half what my maids were paid each per year.......
Bradley
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: cyso_clarinetist
Date: 2003-05-03 03:11
"Huh? What are you talking about? Yes, quite a few USC students have won jobs(including some big ones) lately, but that's a bizarre statement to make.
I assume you know about every audition in the last several years and who won when making a statement like that.
Besides, even at schools from which winners come are many other clarinet majors who never crack the first round of an audition."
There isn't anything bizare about my statement. The only thing is bizarre is how it seems like you have nothing better to do but to counter many of my recent statements on my posts. Let it go. USC students are doing pretty well and I make no apologies for giving them credit.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2003-05-03 04:07
Dude, see my post under 'Orchestra.' Don't take it personally.
...............................................
10 Years ago I was a member of the Charleston Symphony. I just read that they are now being asked to take a pay cut from a base salary of 20 grand to stave off bankruptcy.
What a life.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-05-03 06:34
Quote:
The salary for the position is $21,500. Figures like this are what convinces me to make sure to keep my music as a "hobby" or source of extra income. I realize that there are obviously musicians out there that make a decent living out of music, however let's compare the number of musicians making in excess of, for an arbitrary number, $50,000 with the number of schoolteachers (what I'm aiming to become) making in excess of that number. And then also look at how hard it is to make that much in either field (difficult to get a $50,000 job in music whereas a STARTING teacher's salary in my area is already at $45,000, plus full benefits and within 3 - 5 years will be above the 50,000 mark).
I agree GBK that it's so sad that someone who has such mastery in their field would earn this little. Also, think about the people who have enough technique to make it to the higher rounds. No doubt they are very good at what they do, but the industry says that they're not even deserving of 21,500 a year. What happens to them? They will probably have to work many LESSER paying jobs just to be able to afford the cost of living.
This world can really stink sometimes.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: chalumeau
Date: 2003-05-04 15:48
What make me think the way the audition works is unrealistic; by choosing the winner just by listening for several minutes and in this audition, they rather not chose the experience player (acting assistant principal clarinetist for the St. Louis Symphony), yeah, she was there.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-05-04 18:14
Any audition ever conducted is unrealistic, at least in part. There is no sure way to determine through audition how well a performer will complement and work within an existing organization, nor is there a way to ensure that he/she can play well whatever the orchestra may perform in the future. It's all a bit of a crapshoot, and that's from both sides of the music stand. There's no way the performer can determine in such a brief encounter whether he/she will be able to tolerate future working conditions, either.
The money? Attractive ( or at least tolerable) to some, ghastly to others. Is it a pity that this country does not have the acculturation to drive a greater popularity of symphony performances? Sure it is. Can we "blame" mass media? Well, think of the days when NBC had one of the best orchestras on Earth. When NBC commissioned original opera. When CBS commissioned an original musical by Rogers and Hammerstein. Now, we get "reality" TV that's no more real than the probability of living out a gothic novel.
Henry L. Mencken said it well: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."
Don't deny the truth. You must know it so you can work within it.
Regards,
John
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: dfh
Date: 2003-05-04 19:39
chalumeau - the most exerienced players aren't always the best ones - just the most experienced. Senority shouldn't always rule, which is one of the few good things about the audition system. although i agree, it really stinks.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: vin
Date: 2003-05-04 21:42
Choosing by resume can give an indication, but it really is not advisble. As we all know, there are many differences in style. One person's sound and musical ideas, whatever their resume, may just simply not be tasteful to other people. It's much more important to hear the person live (after all music is about emotion and sound and color and rhythm (among many other things) and a piece of paper no matter how impressive doesn't yield the complete picture about any player. Ricardo Morales did not have a particularly impressive resume or age on his side, but almost no one would argue that the MET erred in choosing him over whoever else had the more appealing resume.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: diz
Date: 2003-05-04 22:47
Even by Australian standards that's a pretty lousy salary - currently a principal with one of the big orchestras here can expect around $70K to $80K ($US35K to $US40K). Mind you, musicians ALL KNOW that the pay is rotten and most of them do not do it for the money - do we?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: 68fordfalcon
Date: 2003-05-05 16:08
Congratulations to the winner. Let me commend you, even though I don't know your name. I'm happy for you.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
