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when to retire

Author: hautbois
Date: 2007-09-19 12:28

We seem to have a great variety in the experience level of posters to this board -- from the high school student to the college or conservatory student to the young professional to the active adult amateur to the experienced professional to the retired performer, with probably gradations in between. Having just retired from the professional orchestra in which I performed for two decades for reasons which are probably only partly individual to me, I am wondering both how other, older, players make their decisions to retire from such an engagement which has been so much a part of their lives, as well as how younger players in orchestras (both professional and amateur) and younger players desiring to find a place in an orchestra view the issue of when to retire.
For me a sudden medical condition precipated my decision, which I had been mulling over for a few years. I had earlier talked at length with the conductor, who was kind enough to encourage me to continue for a few years. And possibly I would have done so for another year but for the medical condition. Another colleague, who had performed with a top five orchestra for most of his life, then retired for a few years, and then joined my orchestra, explained his decision to retire again with simply: "It was time". I have read postings of younger players on other boards, and heard reports from colleagues in other orchestras recounting how younger players appear very impatient for the older players to step down, opening up principal positions as well as commenting unfavorably on technical shortcomings appearing in the performance of the more senior musicians.
Anyone wish to comment?

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