Discussion Panel: Page 17

I have done music library work in one capacity or another as far back as junior high school, while also playing in every orchestra since. During my formal education I augmented my degree programs (undergraduate in music education and masters in violin performance), with extra emphasis in music history and theory, applied lessons on other […]

I’ve been Principal Librarian of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada since 2000 and from 1987 I held the same position at the Winnipeg Symphony. Like almost all of my librarian colleagues, I started in the business as a playing musician (I majored in oboe and piano accompaniment) and somehow found my way […]

While the job of the orchestra librarian has evolved over the years, the basic goal has remained the same: to get the musicians the best possible music so that they can prepare the best possible concert so that the audience will get the best possible performance. When I first began in the library world nearly […]

For those of you who are new to this website, I’d like to encourage you to read some of the Polyphonic articles that have already been written by librarians, and about librarians. At the top left of this page you’ll see “articles” and if you click on that you see an “article catalog.” To the […]

When you hear the word “librarian” what do you think of? I asked my 13 year old daughter that question and she said “a quiet person wearing glasses with her hair in a bun, and she has a name for her copier.” I couldn’t help but laugh because panelist Marcia Farabee is the head librarian […]

Orchestra reductions are always challenging for the pit orchestra. We are expected to sound like the big full orchestra even though there are too few people playing. I think that ballet orchestras seem to have to deal with this issue more than opera, although they are not exclusive. It is always frustrating to play Nutcrackers […]

The main problem we faced for years at the National Ballet of Canada was recognition within the company among management, artistic staff and office staff. There was a lack of understanding for what we do and the orchestra just seemed to be a necessary overhead cost on the artistic fringe. In 1996 our company had […]

Thanks for your question. The issue of breaks is hotly debated amongst our membership. At the SF Opera some years ago, we were finally able to negotiate a specific break structure for both rehearsals and performances. While most players agree that a consistent break schedule is essential for maintaining one’s health and concentration, when a […]

Pit orchestras like mine face a unique challenge by virtue of their limited seasons. Even in the early years when we were working together 8 weeks a year, there would be periods of several weeks or months between series. Ensemble issues can arise simply because we don’t play together often enough to develop that sixth […]

While there are many pit issues to deal with, the most crucial is the threat to our very existence by ill-informed management and apathetic audiences. Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra was eliminated from the PBT during the 2005-06 season, but by getting our outrage into public immediately, we were able to marshal the forces of our labor […]