TromboneChat

As a retired Correctional Officer and part time orchestral musician, this is alarming.

What's alarming about it? Playing full time in an orchestra, even if it's a dream gig, is still a job. Few people enjoy their jobs all the time.

Alarming. Not alarming. That is in the mind of the thinker. I don't think it is surprising however.

Being a musician, with the quality of your work on full display at all times, is different from any profession that isn't either performing arts or athletics. There is no way to hide bad preparation or any sort of affliction that affects the quality of your playing. Add to that the inherent problems of an orchestra being a relatively small social circle.

Lots of stressors so all stress related ailments and conditions are going to be there and probably more prevalent.

Playing music can really suck a lot of the time whether in orchestras or freelancing. But the dopamine hits when things go right keep this addict coming back in search of another high.

I would bet a survey probing from another angle would find that orchestral players also have a high level of pride in their work, sense of esteem and feeling of purpose.

When i was 35 I finally got a job I loved. It was all stuff i had done before but the co-workers and the management were much better.

I realized: it's not what I'm working at... it's who I'm working with.


The performing classical music world is mostly a meritocracy but the merit that makes one a leading musician is rather different from the merit needed to lead musicians. Thus, performers who rise to the top of a section are often bad fits for the tasks at the top that are not actual performing.

The manager at my great job was not more skilled than any of us at our particular specialties but he had an Obi-wan-like ability to defuse arguments, build consensus, get agreement, and motivate people to do their best.... just by saying the right thing at the right time.

I'm not sure how you apply him to an orchestral ensemble but you'd have happier musicians if you could.

There was an excellent documentary about the Berlin Phil where many of the players were wondering how long they could keep up the standard.

I also wonder how much of the unhappiness is due to the periodic toxic fashions that seem to sweep through US orchestra management. In contrast to other countries where it's a municipal job, or the cooperative orchestras like the London orchestras, Berlin, or Vienna.

"If you know anything about lavalier microphones and producing an informative video, then you've probably heard people say that you should clip the lavalier microphone to your shirt and only use the outdoor windscreen for outdoor interviews..."

What in the TikTok influencer is happening to grown adults on social media? It might be petty but I have trouble taking anyone holding the tiny microphone seriously.

I don't think we humans are all that great at intense and frequent collaboration, and a lot of our discontent comes from excessive demands in this regard.

In the example of an orchestra: Work together, sublimate your ego, ignore your current emotional or physical state, all in real time, and nearly every day.

In nearly every other field where people are cooperating, you can temper this by how and when you interact: Don't want an interaction right now? Close your office door, or work from home. Are you an introvert? There's a dozen ways to avoid too much interaction.

There is absolutely nowhere to delay, mitigate, or hide in an orchestra, and as many orchestra players are highly introverated, so much togetherness is very draining.

Add to this the necessarily hierarchical nature of a symphony orchestra, and it's a kind of recipe for frustration, even if the stakes are frankly not that high.

And I'm guessing playing Mozart covers year after year might wear you down a bit.

Who on this thread so far has held a full time orchestral position? Harrison has been in a full time service band for a long time so he could relate perhaps.

The repertoire is not as repetitive as people make out. And the music played really isn’t a big part of the stress.

The Mozart cover crack was a nod to an old gag on The Onion...

https://theonion.com/violinist-sick-of- ... 819586951/

Wayne wrote: Fri May 08, 2026 5:43 pm Who on this thread so far has held a full time orchestral position? Harrison has been in a full time service band for a long time so he could relate perhaps.

The repertoire is not as repetitive as people make out. And the music played really isn’t a big part of the stress.

I can't pretend that being in the full time military band, unless it's like the Coast Guard wind ensemble, is anything like being in a full time orchestra. And I am definitely not in that awesome Coast Guard band.

When I'm in the BQ the repertoire is dreadfully repetitive (yes, "dreadful" is the right word!) .... But! With the right mix of people it's still a lot of fun and you can make great music and find music that you didn't know was ever in those tired old charts.

For me military overseas travel is like a sirens call -- I'll play whatever music you want if it means I get to serve overseas again, especially in Japan. I've always felt alive overseas. I was playing Ado charts in a brass band in 2019 before anyone outside of Tokyo had heard of her. Now she is the biggest thing since sliced bread.

And I've increasingly found myself either in a big band playing lead bone or in a horn line in a rock band, playing actual fun music, which is a great direction for the non-DC Army Bands. I've been having a blast with some great people, and I'm chomping at the bit to get back overseas and work together with allied nation bands again.

Interesting. The Canadian Forces are a little differently organized. There are a handful of reg force bands across the country that have a base form of a concert band. They pull various ensembles out of that to be able to do a variety of shows and duties. They also will go overseas when required. That is supplemented by maybe a couple dozen reserve bands that operate like community bands but fill in for or collaborate with reg force when needed.

I partially paid for university by playing in reserve bands. There were opportunities for full time service in the summers and the bands occasionally did things like slip across the border to play change of command parades when they couldn’t get a US band.

Wayne wrote: Sat May 09, 2026 6:22 am Interesting. The Canadian Forces are a little differently organized. There are a handful of reg force bands across the country that have a base form of a concert band. They pull various ensembles out of that to be able to do a variety of shows and duties. They also will go overseas when required. That is supplemented by maybe a couple dozen reserve bands that operate like community bands but fill in for or collaborate with reg force when needed.

I partially paid for university by playing in reserve bands. There were opportunities for full time service in the summers and the bands occasionally did things like slip across the border to play change of command parades when they couldn’t get a US band.

This all tracks with US Army Bands outside of DC. But the "base concert band" concept is kind of not really the case -- you can't have a concert band with two clarinets, and that is the typical number a band gets on the TOE. So your woodwinds are really just there to fill out the jazz ensemble and form a WWQ.

The most wind ensemble I ever did was when I was in Japan for 4 years, and we would invite the wood winds from the Guam National Guard band or the sister services with bases in Japan to fill out our woodwinds. Even better was when we could combine with the JSDF band or Kanagawa Police Band (yes, there is a full time Police Wind ensemble in Japan almost on par with Kosei Winds). Then we would perform Maslanka pieces or Berstein wind ensemble transcriptions.

But our main ensemble was or big band and jazz combo.

Overseas big band is still perceived as the classic American art form so it really works well in Europe and Asia.

Edit sp.

When I was working on my Masters in Performance, I studied with Richard Meyers , The Principal in the Buffalo Philharmonic. Wonderful player and a great guy.
I came into my lesson one week and Dick is in a rotten mood. I asked What`s the Matter?
His answer " I can`t believe we have to play Beethoven 5 again."
Me - " When was the last time you played it?"
Dick - "5 years ago"
At the time I was doing a lot of big band gigs.
Me - " 5 years ago? Really? i have to play In The Mood almost every night and you`re complaining about having to play a piece once every 5 year
Dick - " It doesn't sound so bad when you put it that way"
I was a High School Band Director for 35 years. I loved what I did but NOT EVERY DAY!

That's funny: I had a big band back in Pittsburgh, and I asked our bassist, who is from Venezuela, what the equivalent of "in The Mood" was there.

Without a second of thought, he replied "Besse Me Mucho."