Comments on: Road Warrior without an Expense Account Part III –The Rise and Fall of the Full-Time Orchestra

By: The Unsung Success of Live Classical Music : Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:01:19 +0000

[...] that classical music has historically been based on philanthropic giving and patronage. I make a similar assertion in my Road Warrior Without An Expense Account book, and Botstein’s description of this [...]

By: Tony Monaco

Tony Monaco — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:03:46 +0000

The “Real” Road Warrior lost everything : His wife and child murdered and he was partially mamed after a motorcycle ran over his leg. He wandered out into the wasteland and learned to live again. I guess I’ve gone through something similar. I lost a Principal Bass position or rather it lost me due to non-payment of wages. My mother was killed by a drunk driver in ’02 while she was jogging at 6:30 a.m. on the Opposite Side of the road! And-I still miss my father (A composer and Music Professor)who died of cancer. However-if you’re still with me-There is light at the end of the dark tunnel. My music career may not resume in a prestigous position, but it will resume. I’ve even begun to teach again after a 2 year exodus. Never give up-never say die-and a good friend always helps.

By: Jason Heath

Jason Heath — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:56:00 +0000

Thanks for all of the comments on this post. With this installment, I was trying to lay the groundwork for some theories of mine regarding this business, and I really appreciate all of the comments and elaborations.

By: Elaine Fine

Elaine Fine — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:22:00 +0000

You are right on target with this post. Most freelance musicians (myself included) work our tails off putting in as many hours of personal practice and on-stage performance time, and often twice the commuting time as people who play in full time orchestras. We often have to play difficult music without the luxury of adequate rehearsal time because of the smaller budget of the orchestras we play in, and we are expected to play at as high a professional level as people in full-time orchestras. If we can’t do the job properly (play in tune, count, show up on time, observe proper decorum) there are dozens of others who would be happy to be in our seats.

By: gsarchet@gmail.com

gsarchet@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Jason-Very well-written, excellent post. I would suggest that post WWII immigrants, amongst whom were many educated Europeans, created an audience and demand for “classical’ music, and financial support, to a certain extent.

By: Brian Roessler

Brian Roessler — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 20:05:00 +0000

This series of posts is pretty overwhelming, but super important. Thanks a lot for such thoughtful writing, Jason. Everyone who is trying to construct a career as a classical musician needs to have this information. You can’t very well make a good game plan if you don’t know what the game is…

By: Jacque

Jacque — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 19:42:00 +0000

Just so everyone knows, Norman Lebrecht has his critics, although I think you probably have your facts straight in your article, Jason. I remember that I tried to read “Who Killed Classical Music,” and just the first chapter made me sick to stomach over the waste and excess of conductors and soloists. I couldn’t continue. I never have tried to finish reading it.

By: Brian Roessler

Brian Roessler — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:42:00 +0000

This series of posts is pretty overwhelming, but incredibly important. Thank you so much, Jason. Everyone thinking about trying to construct a career as a classical musician (or any other kind, for that matter) needs to have a clear sense of this stuff. Having a useful gameplan depends on knowing what the game actualy is!

By: Jason Heath

Jason Heath — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:39:00 +0000

Most of this information comes from ‘Who Killed Classical Music’ and ‘Mozart in the Jungle’, and I will add reference links to the bottom right now. Thanks for mentioning my oversight, Jacque.

By: Jacque

Jacque — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:13:00 +0000

I’d love to have some references for the data you cite in this piece. Can you update with sources?