Posted by Lee Stofer on May 07, 2003 at 08:42:05:
In Reply to: Band vs. Orchestra posted by Paul Averton on May 06, 2003 at 22:37:41:
Paul,
Congratulations on graduating high school! Your concerns about finding a tuba job, particularly one that pays a living, are very valid.
There are maybe, just maybe a dozen orchestral positions in the United States that pay a living. They are certainly not easy to come by. You must study, and practice like your life depends upon it, and you still might or might not make it to the second round. No matter how good you are, if your sound and style do not match up with what the committee members' concept of what the tuba should sound like, or if they already know who they want to hire for the job and it isn't you, you will not get the job. If get the job and the orchestra goes on strike or has sufficient financial problems to fold, you are unemployed again.
A full-time tuba position as a teacher requires a Master's degree minimum, DMA preferred. You could commit to many years of study, but in light of current situations, you would have no guarantee of employment. Positions like that have been starting to diminish for a couple of years now.
At one time, if you could play at all, you could be in a military band. This, too, has changed. Besides having to be in great shape and undergo background checks to get into the military, the playing level of military tuba players has gone up in recent years while the number of bands has diminished. So, a full-time job as a military tuba player is not exactly a cakewalk, either. There are significantly more full-time positions in the military than in civilian orchestras though, and the US military cannot go on strike and will not fold. Plus, to attract the most highly qualified applicants, the US government has programs that will either pay off your student loans in addition to your regular pay, or educational bonuses that will pay $50,000.00 or more for your education in exchange for an enlistment obligation. The typical US Army tuba player is making more than if he were teaching, and during the last 15 of my 22 years as a US Army tuba player, my salary was better than that of many orchestra principal positions in the US.
Not nearly all the "good players" go for the orchestras. When I graduated college and (like hundreds of other graduates that spring) had no job, I took the only available orchestra audition for a position that paid mid-poverty-level, and left after the first round, like over 70 others from around the country. I remember seeing one man, looked like he was in his 40's at least, preparing for the 2nd round, and thought, "I need to get some experience, but how?" I went back and talked with my teacher, who had done one tour in the 3rd Army Band in Atlanta, Dan Perantoni, who had done a tour in the Army Band, and read something by Harvey Phillips, who had played in the Army Field Band, and thought, "I see a trend here." Unemployment of tuba players in the civilian world was high in 1979, but there was a shortage of us in the Army, so I was appreciated, had lots of gigs and got promoted fast.
There are a lot of possibilities out there that many people never even think of. I'd suggest that you go to college, do a lot of general-ed stuff first, play a lot, and keep your eyes open for opportunities - they are increasingly rare, but they do exist.
Lee Stofer