Author: JessKateDD
Date: 2009-02-06 05:22
Here in Houston, there is a local community band which has plenty of good players but an incredibly bad clarinet section led by a woman who is only first chair because her husband is one of the conductors. Though an incredibly weak player with an awful sound, she insists on always sitting first and playing every solo. This community band has no challenge or chairing system - she is first chair for life. She was so horrible that I attended exactly one rehearsal and never returned. I've met others who have told me they did the exact same thing when they tried that band out. Should that band ever reform its clarinet section, maybe I'll give it another try, but probably not.
3dog, were I you, I'd ask to sit first, as was the original agreement, or for your money back. It's no fun sitting in a section led by a lousy player. Music is a meritocracy, not a democracy. The strongest player should play first, period. If the other player cares about the group, she will want you to play first since you are the more advanced player. Now, in a community group, I think it is also good to spread around the wealth a bit - when an easy piece comes up, it's good for morale to throw the better parts to the weaker players so that they can shine for a change. But when the passages are more difficult, the best players must be playing them.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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