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Posted by Needs to be said on May 05, 2003 at 14:27:15:

Sometimes this BBS can be an amusing place. A lot of useful things make their way here as far as gossip, news and shop talk. The gossip cracks me up the most. I find it funny. The political talk here seems to do no good. It never changes anyone's mind about anything. What I find the most distressing about attitudes on the BBS is the lack of support for professional musicians and their jobs. Its so easy to disregard so and so's plight, because he is in an orchestra that pays a lot of money, when that orchestra runs into trouble. Without specific examples here, lets get into this.

This is a tuba related website and board. Most viewers have at least an interest in tuba and music. This is assumed because I don't usually go to engineering sites, as I have zero interest in it. Since you are here and reading, you seem to have an interest in these things. What kills me is how some people can have so little respect for their craft and the people who are the master's of their craft(even if they are part time, amatuer players). It doesn't matter that you are not in tuba or music as a career or as a person who does it for fun. Music can not survive if the people that already are interested in it don't care if it is here or not. The lack of support for our premiere musical institutions pisses me off, and I would expect musicians of all sorts to be more symathetic, and more supportive.

Why? Who cares if really good tuba players have jobs or money? Well, the evolution of the tuba is at stake. If there are no jobs for good tuba players, why would anyone want to get that good? Gene, Chester, Warren and all those guys probably would not have been as motivated to perfect their skills to the level they did if there was not a reason to do so. Can you imagine putting all that effort and work to get that good, and the best you can do is to play in a community band with grandpa and uncle fester? Not that there is anything wrong with those groups, either. Because we have tope level positions, the last three or four generations of tuba players have had to seriously work hard to get ahead. The competition made us all better. There was a time when Fountains of Rome was too hard for auditions, and American in Paris was one of the hardest things on auditions. We have evolved and improved. A lot of it is because of the premiere jobs demanded it.

What I want, is for someone to explain to me why we should NOT fight to the last tuba player to keep as many of these institutions as we possibly can!!!

I also think it would be a great idea for us, the musicians to be FOR music, and musicians, and high music salaries, and high teacher salaries. Lawyers and Athletes had their turn. Its time that we get to enjoy the finer things in life, and that we stop allowing our great musical treasures to go away.


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