Symphony Orchestra Advice

[SousaLord]

Hi there, I'm a sophomore clarinet player and I'm really passionate about pursuing a paid position in a symphony orchestra, ideally in one of the Big 5 orchestras. I've been playing the clarinet since sixth grade and I absolutely love it. I dedicate as much time as possible to practicing, even during marching band season, and I also take regular lessons. Currently, I hold the first chair position at my school and in a local youth orchestra. I'm confident that I'll make TMEA All-State 6A this year. I'm seeking advice on the next steps I should take to achieve my goal. If you need more information to provide better guidance, I'd be happy to share additional details about my situation.

[band007]

  On 10/2/2024 at 2:19 AM, SousaLord said:

Hi there, I'm a sophomore clarinet player and I'm really passionate about pursuing a paid position in a symphony orchestra, ideally in one of the Big 5 orchestras. I've been playing the clarinet since sixth grade and I absolutely love it. I dedicate as much time as possible to practicing, even during marching band season, and I also take regular lessons. Currently, I hold the first chair position at my school and in a local youth orchestra. I'm confident that I'll make TMEA All-State 6A this year. I'm seeking advice on the next steps I should take to achieve my goal. If you need more information to provide better guidance, I'd be happy to share additional details about my situation.

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Hey SousaLord, i’m actually on a very similar path to the one that you are trying to pursue. For starters, keep participating in your orchestra as you’ll gain helpful experience and learn more about how to fit into an orchestra. As a sophomore, your main focus should be improving your fundamentals throughout the year. Long tones, technique, whatever just as long as you’re expanding your knowledge and skills. Something you’ll want to start thinking about is which music school/university you plan to attend to further your music education. As a junior, you’ll probably want to get in touch with the faculty at these schools and establish a basis for their perception of you. This relationship can set you apart from other applicants when you go through the audition process. Finally, don’t stress too much about it. You’re still young and it seems like you have a good future ahead of you. Learn to enjoy the clarinet and fall in love with it; don’t turn your life into “how much can i practice each day” as you will burnout and lose your passion. Good luck on all your future endeavors and I hope this helps!

[SousaLord]

Thanks! I appreciate the advice. As I mentioned, I really love it and I'm excited for the future. When it comes to music schools/universities, which are some of the top schools for clarinet? I'm already aware of most of the top ones like Curtis, Juilliard, and Eastman, but are there any others I should consider that have great programs or professors?

[Clarineter]

tmea all state has nothing to do with being a successful musician later on

[takigan]

I've learned some things I'd never thought of by having conversations with friends who've made it into professional ensembles.

1.  The concept where you spend 6 months on a marching show, 6 months on All-State etudes, 4 months on UIL music and 3-6 months learning a solo for Solo & Ensemble contest has almost ZERO resemblance to anything you will ever do as a Clarinetist in a Top 5 orchestra.  In the professional world it is very common to learn 2 hours of music in one single rehearsal, and have a concert on that music just a few days later.

2.  If you don't love the instrument enough to practice it by yourself all day long day-in and day-out (6-8 hours per day), then you're probably wasting your time, because that's the level of commitment it takes to get into that level of ensemble.  This is very similar advice for people trying to get into the NFL, NBA or MLB, as the difficulty for getting into all of the above is very similar.

3. Practicing for three separate 1 hour sessions in a 24-hour period is more efficient than one 4-hour long practice session. Yes, I said 4.

4.  Every practice session should have a specific goal in mind that you're willing to break down to almost the atomic level and rebuild it from the ground up.  If your practicing method starts and stops at just learning a bunch of new solos or cruising through an etude book, you will never reach the highest level....no matter how many thousands of hours you put into it.  

5. All 5 of the top ensembles require sight-reading when you audition.  This is because your skill as a sight-reader is more valuable to an orchestra than your skill as a soloist or even your skill as an ensemble player.  I'm a Euphonium player, and Brian Bowman; one of the greatest Euphonium players of the 20th century once said "The best way to approach sight-reading is to simply learn every single piece of music that they would ever throw at you....Even though I was required to sightread at every audition I ever took, I knew almost every piece the committee ever threw at me, so I hardly ever actually had to sightread".