Re: My Experience this morning


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Posted by Rob Ross on February 23, 2002 at 00:27:56:

In Reply to: My Experience this morning posted by Arnold on February 22, 2002 at 12:42:47:

I have been through many experiences where the conductor, or more often the guest conducutor, will do his/her best to come across as a jerk to the orchestra. I've also been in situations where conductors would say "you're sharp" when I was flat or not playing altogether.

The first order of business is to check that note with a tuner at the marked volume. Once that is good, pay attention to the color of the sound. I used to play a Mirafone 188 that could sound bright at times and even though I was flat on a tuner, the conductor would say I was sharp. This usually happened when I asked to play a note to check the tuning, but when I played with other players the overal result was in tune.

You were smart to not say much (if anything) to the conductor. Always let him/her sound as much like a dolt as possible without any contribution from you. However, there are times when conductors simply infuriate you so much that you just can't take it anymore, and you have to stand up for yourself. This is when its nice to have friends in the trombone section or the stage crew (never trust string players). Simply pass out your "Ex-Presidents" masks, hand them each a $20 (a $10 will suffice for bone players, $5 and/or beer for bass bone players), and have them meet the conductor in the parking lot on his way out. Another really crafty trick is to slow leak one of the conductors tires so that he has to change it on the way home. Then, when he's on the shoulder, changing the tire, he's all yours. Of course, I'm only kidding. I just went through a nightmare experience with a Guest Conductor and since we were doing Pines of Rome, I had a lot of down time.


Rob


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