Posted by js on May 08, 2002 at 01:25:46:
In Reply to: Question for the Professionally employed posted by College Kid on May 08, 2002 at 00:13:58:
There are only a small percentage of those who read this bbs and believe this to be possible, but "job" and even much more restrictly-specifically "job playing the tuba" do not HAVE to be defined as
"orchestra job".
It doesn't even have to be defined as "service band job".
Back when I was making a living playing the tuba (I still accept many engagements, but I could survive without them at this point.), part of what I did was play in symphony orchestras, but I also played a LOT of "non-classical" music.
I just never could define "my music" as being limited to a list of thirty or forty orchestral excerpts (ie. "the list") to blat through in a practice room every day as my personal sentence of drudgery. (ahem...) There is other stuff out there to play besides "the list", and most all of the other stuff is
- outside the realm of the 19th Century symphony orchestra
- music that usually does not require the tuba player to count hundreds of measures (or multiple movements) before it is finally his/her turn to play
- can offer levels of freedom of expression that are so far outside the bounds of "the list" that if "the list" actually had it's own persona it would not recognize these musical outlets as brethren.
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Explore outside the box. It's pretty big out there (and don't forget to bring your tuba!).