Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Colorado anyone??


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Posted by Dale on September 13, 2001 at 11:26:32:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Colorado anyone?? posted by frustration on September 13, 2001 at 09:41:32:

First, this style of "Auditioner's Anonymous" complaining has existed since long before the WTC murders on Tuesday, the thread started before then too.

Y'all wanting to be anonymous (I guess) makes some sense. But why complain about the problems with a less-than-altruistic audition process at all? The military band guys are familiar with the concept of "eye-wash" .... sometimes work is WORK, sometimes it is going through the motions, and sometimes it is only for appearance's sake. Take a lesson from these guys, and suck it up. I for one don't wanna hear it, and I do NOT think I am alone here. Oh, since criticism without suggesting solutions is lame, here's some (albeit unsolicited) advice:

People, don't get in the habit of publicly voicing criticism if you wanna fast-track success in your world. It's a hard habit to break, and in the less-than-perfect and SMALL community of professional musicians, your reputation is everything. Being anonymous now may help you feel good and "safe"....but the habit will bite you in the arse. If public complaints become habit, eventually and publicly you WILL forget to guard your precious anonymity and slip up. Nothing worse than living with that consequence when you still have to (or have to try to) work with those you may have slammed.

Second, I completely reject the idea that belly-aching should be tolerated unless "you've been there." Would you extend such magnaminity to the perps behind the recent WTC murders?
After all, there's a "felt wrong" behind that craziness too. Unless we've "gone through the whole experience ourselves" I guess it's then ok to accept any or all public display of displeasure, eh?

It is NOT "easy" to speak to this topic, if it WERE "easy" I'd have expected to see
YOUR signatures next to your respective two-cent's worth!

Far easier to whine anonymously than speak your mind publicly! And (I suppose) far easier to duck the consequence of your whining than take it on the chin for what you (I assume) believe in!

Again, since possible solutions should accompany "criticism" I'll repeat something I said earlier about "getting chances" to play tuba professionally:

The chances come from being asked to sub/fill in/play the gigs.

The chances come from being encouraged to audition by the retiring incumbent (!)

The chances come from having the nerve to go do the best damned audition you ever did, sometimes maybe even over and over again even knowing that there'll be a dozen or more kids there with "greater technical accuracy" than a damned digital CD player.

The chances also DO come even to the techno-practice room whizzes, for them the nerve to REALLY do the best damned audition they ever did comes from (in addition to all the work)
sucking it up and doin the gig and holding your tongue if things don't go the way you dreamed. Remember that when you say "all I want is a chance" ..... that all you are asking for is just that....chance.... its not a sure thing. Try not to let "not winning" make you cynical.

The musicians whose bargaining agreement gives them a solid say-so in the selection process are EXACTLY the group of musicians you WANT to work with, they care about their music, and the selection clause is designed to assure they don't burn-out entirely from the right-to-work/make-work mentality of most union-ese.

Unless you wanna chafe your young-adult years away in the highly-competitive tech pool,
you gotta play everywhere you get a chance and (obviously) NOT DO IT ANONYMOUSLY...NONE OF THESE "CHANCES" COME TO ANONYMOUS PLAYERS, you have to be known AND manage every aspect of your reputation.

you KNOW a tuba chair in a top orchestra is probably as hard to "win" as it is to get a walk-on tryout for the Yankees...but way back when, the Met's catcher KNEW someone, and lookie where HE is now! (and no whining from the player's association either!)





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