Author: lmliberson
Date: 2025-08-10 00:16
Different orchestras use different terms.
My position (for more than four decades) was Assistant Principal Clarinet & Eb Clarinet.
How we approached the different programs depended on what was needed.
Obviously, if there was a piccolo clarinet part, I played it. If there was a piece that called for more than Clarinet I & Clarinet II, I would likely have played the Clarinet III part. Sometimes there were parts that were doubled, such as The Miraculous Mandarin in which the Clarinet II part doubles D clarinet. There were times that I played the entire part (second clarinet/Eb in Mahler 4th) or just the Eb section of it. I have played the entire Berlioz Symphony fantastique first clarinet part (which doubles Eb in the final movement) but most often just sat there for what seemed like eons to play only that final movement. I played the first clarinet part to Bolero but played the 16 bar Eb solo also in the same performance. Every day is/was a new adventure!
"Relief" player hardly addresses what the position really is. Most often (and, of course, dependent on repertoire), we would work things out so that we could equalize the work load in any given week. Generally, I might play the first half of a concert on Clarinet I and the principal would take the second half.
Then there were split weeks where there might be both a chamber orchestra and a pops show. He would take one and I would take the other.
And sometimes (rarely, thank goodness!), I might need to double the first clarinet part if the conductor requested that.
And if I really wanted to play a certain tune, I likely could do that, too.
For the most part, things were fluid in my section in my orchestra. It was rarely the same from week to week. And, frankly, when you have 150+ concerts in a single season, you need to be flexible!
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The Clarinet BBoard
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