Discussion Panel: Page 8

I’m assuming everyone else is also noticing those little aches and pains creeping in and then flitting away again as we get older. Are those really just starting to happen or am I noticing them because I’m paranoid? I’ve seen too many wonderful musicians bite the dust in the past few years. Is that little […]

Our next topic is fatigue. What toll does doing all this driving take, on both your car and your body/spirit?

Each of the groups I play with has vastly different attendance policies. If one is to ask off for a rehearsal during a series, most of the time it is granted provided you’re missing the first rehearsal. It also helps if you’re asking to be excused to play with an orchestra of better reputation and […]

Scheduling conflicts seem to be one of the biggest problem with freelancing when you are depending on regional orchestras for the bulk of your work. In the Philadelphia area it seems that all the orchestras tend to schedule for the same weekends. Of course much of this is due to holidays, sharing concert halls with […]

I find the logistics of scheduling to be one of the most disheartening aspects of this job. Sometimes it seems that the two sets I find most musically rewarding in a year happen at the same time. Since I only have two orchestra contracts, juggling requirements isn’t as crucial to me as trying to balance […]

Conflicts are a big problem. It is very difficult for boards of our orchestras to understand when we ask for them to provide more services but then at the same time ask for a lenient absence policy so we do not have to play them. The idea that we can’t move anything in our schedules […]

In the San Francisco Bay Area, all of the union regional orchestras allow any musician to miss one rehearsal per subscription set. The San Francisco Symphony, Ballet, and Opera do not allow this, but for most of us, that is not much of our income, and if you’re playing a week with them, you’re making […]

Today I would like to start with a few comments about health insurance. The Los Angeles musicians do have access to a plan provided through their local union, and it’s a very good plan. It’s been in place for about 30 years. There are qualification standards, and you do need to work enough under union […]

Since I am currently contracted in nine orchestras in the Bay Area, I am definitely qualified to speak about scheduling conflicts! It seems like every set I choose to do means opting out of at least one other–and with the Murphy’s Law way things seem to happen, often I’ll have 3 or 4 “options” in […]

For our second round, I’ve asked the panelists to talk about logistical and contractual problems with juggling so many different schedules and contracts. What are the absence policies in the orchestras you play with? How difficult is it to get excused from a rehearsal in one orchestra in order to play a series in another? […]