Posted by why? on May 04, 2003 at 23:33:32:
In Reply to: Saving Orchestras posted by Ryan W. Schultz on May 04, 2003 at 17:41:07:
Why do we expect to be able to make a living by playing in an orchestra. Why can't we just accept the $20,000 and year like most smaller, non-folding orchestras. If we keep pressing the $$ issue, we'll end up like professional sports. Instead of playing for the love of music, we'll be playing for money. I love music. That's why I wanted to study it. I never thought I'd make a lot of money, and I certainly never expected to be able to survive off of what I made with my horn. So why is the national average of orchestral pay $100,000 a season? That's insane. I can't believe people actually wonder why these orchestras are folding. Talk about mismanaging your funds. Houston took a paycut to keep out of financial trouble (which their still in) and now their only making $70,000 a season. Oh, boo hoo. Cry me a river. Go out and get a real job if you don't want to starve. Otherwise, don't complain about the low pay. YOU'RE the ones destroying society by killing off our orchestras.