 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
Sunday, December 7, 2003
What's "In There"?
quote:
Originally posted by ed:
As I approach the last year of my performance course in the little town of Adelaide (South Australia), my grandiose plans to study and find work in Germany seem so distant as I realise how detached my colleagues and I are from what appears to quite a potent music scene we will find in the states and Europe. Talk of the future (work, careers) are always for those who 'get over there' and learn from 'real' teachers who will kick your *** ..until you either give up or wake up to where you 'should be'.
I'm working so hard with a deep-seeded fear I have these monster-gun-players to contend with, and regardless how good I am in my town...'it means nothing'. The problem is in Australia for someone after an orchestral job, you either wait around for someone to retire or leave a job *(from the 8 or so orchestras we boast)...or you go overseas..there really is no choice in the matter.
I want to prepare myself so that I have a chance for success..but what am I really up against..tis hard to not be bogged down by people who have no concept of how they compare to the world..teachers who praise the **** out of you just cos you play the notes without choking...what are peoples perception of musicians from Australia..do our carefree attitude translate to slack unattentive students when we visit your country seeking glory?
*phew*
ed
Joe Jackson Replies:
Wow, that's a whole
lot of questions, but the common basis of all of them seems to be
"what is it really like 'out there'". My advice to you is not to
worry about all of that.
What is important is what's "in there", meaning what is inside
of you. Is there someone who is willing to set their personal playing
standards so high that they are never fully satisfied with their playing
and will make improvement a lifetime endeavor? Is there a person in there
who knows how to work with people, is fun to be around and treats people
with respect? Is there a person in there who takes responsibility for who
he/she is and does and says? Is there a person in there who is willing to
play any kind of music set in front of them and not just orchestral or
symphonic positions?
If the answer to these and like questions is "yes", then none of
the worries about competition level and the "Aussie personality"
matter a whit, and I would strongly urge you to put them out of your mind,
because unless you are just a hopelessly *bad* musician, you will
absolutely succeed as a professional.
Too much is made of competition, and as long as a person does not shrink
the field of music by placing artificial constraints up in the form of
expectations, the music field is absolutely HUGE and there is plenty of
room for players. But if being a pro means means having a symphony job or
any other specific job, then the music field is absolutely TINY and there
is very little room for new players coming up.
My friend David Perkel, whom I went to school with in the early 1980s,
wanted to be a trombone soloist who would travel from city to city and
guest artist with major symphonies. I knew this because he told me when I
first met him. Now, the fact of having a specific vision is a great, great
thing - don't get me wrong! Because unless people can envision doing
something, they basically have little chance of doing or being it.
But of course we all know the job market for traveling guest trombone
artists playing with major orchestras is exactly 1, and that position is
currently occupied by Christian Lindbergh.
The thing about Dave is that while he is an exceptional symphonic
trombonist and a tremendous classical soloist, he is also the best big
band section player I have ever had the pleasure of working with, and
despite spending all of his energy developing his classical soloing thing,
by virtue of his natural commercial playing skills and personality and
social skills he was constantly drawn into playing in more commercial
arenas, the Lab Bands at North Texas, etc.
Now continue that precise dynamic forward twenty years, that being a guy
who has the pro's relentless ethic of self-criticism, is the very epitome
of versatility, has as much personal integrity as you would ever see in a
person, and is a joy to work and be with.
Today, Dave has ended up as the lead trombonist in the Navy Commodores, is
one of the first call subs for most symphonies in the Baltimore/DC area,
and does as much commercial free-lance work as he wants. He has a lovely
wife and a house in Virginia, and has about 100 people who consider him
their best friend and would do anything he asked.
Now not everyone is as gifted a trombonist as Dave Perkel is. But I hope
nobody overlooks what a profound impact on his career was the willingness
to be flexible and versatile, to allow himself to be drawn into areas
where his more marketable abilities made him invaluable, and how his
personal skills, integrity and responsibility are a constant in every
professional equation he has ever encountered.
By the way, I would characterize Dave's personality as well as the
personality of thousands of professionals I have known as precisely Ed's
characterization of the Aussie "carefree attitude". If somebody
has a problem with the attitude or personality of a player, I can say with
certainty it has nothing to do with being carefree or being and
Australian. That's an easy excuse for maybe *thinking* you are coming
across as carefree but actually you are being a jerk, or a passive
aggressive hiding under the carefree exterior.
Sometimes these prejudices distract us from actually seeing how we
"be" to other people and taking responsibility for it.
©2003, Joe Jackson. All rights reserved.