kontrabass wrote:Those of you who have figured out the industry, my congratulations, but my intended audience was the players who are currently in undergrad and graduate programs who are gunning for a symphony job. I remember the feeling very well, to quote another poster "there's room if you're good enough", and the encouragement offered by my university programs was a covert contract that "if you practice enough, you will eventually be rewarded with a job in a symphony". No problem, let me invest $30K in instruments and $80K in student loans, I'll pay it back when I score a gig. Universities are not focused on creating artists who play for the love of music or who innovate and forge their own path. They are selling the dream of doing what your teacher does.
Me and my friends had a sort of wilful ignorance to the reality of the industry. We all believed we would be the one to get Pokorny's chair in the CSO when he retires. (still waiting on that one). And any news of the financial doom and gloom befalling orchestras created an uneasy feeling in the pit of our stomachs and we would change the subject. Music school is such an incredibly tense and anxiety-fueled environment. It's very difficult to get on the path towards being a professional player and not tie your self-worth up in your success or failure. And if you are out in the world and don't have the orchestral job that you were implicitly promised, you might feel like a failure as a human being. You're in for a spiritual crisis. It seems to happen to everybody that goes through music school.
It's important that every young player know the truth about what's happening in this industry. So, yes, this thread again, and it should come up every now and then to make sure the message is getting out, that what universities are selling isn't as tangible a thing as they make it out to be, and the sooner you accept it the more chance you have of finding your own path.
The reason I don't like these threads is because they are full of cynics and jackasses having pissing contests, myself included now. But you know what? I applaud - and respect - you for doing what you want. You stuck your neck out and **** did it. When all is said and done, and you're a senile old fool, you won't be left wondering, "What if I had taken a chance and pursued my dreams?". There are plenty of roads to take in the music industry if you don't get your symphony chair.
This is my opinion: A good life is not one of incredible wealth or a prosperous job, but one full of content.
As a side note, some - commonly mentally ill - are contented with bullying others, and that's fine. I think there's a career for that
