Lifestyle of an orchestra member ?
Question by La Bella Senorita: Lifestyle of an orchestra member ?
Lifestyle of an orchestra member ?
Can anyone describe to me life as a professional violinist in a Philharmonic Orchestra , in as much detail as possible? What is it like getting started? What is it like when your career gets into full swing? I want to know all the details 🙂
What does it take to become a member of the orchestra ? Will a grade 8 Suffice ? Or a Performance certificate ?
How many Hours a day you have to rehearse ?With or Without the orchestra ?
And do they hold lectures or master classes , sponsored by the company , or do you have to pay for the tuition fee yourself ?
And how much do violinists and other in the orchestra members get paid ?
Do they get paid on a monthly basis , or on contract basis or commision basis depending on the size of the Philharmonic Orchestra and the difficulty of the repertoire ?
Do they get employee benefits , like Employers Provident Fund and Medical?
I’m thinking of pursuing a career in music, so I just want to know what to expect.
Best answer:
Answer by del_icious_manager
It’s tough! Firstly, NO, Grade 8 is nowhere near good enough. You will need at least a Performers’ Diploma from one of the music conservatoires. You have to be really, really good to make it into an orchestra. Remember, there are 100s of really talented musicians coming out of music college every year. If you don’t match up, you’ll just make yourself look a bit silly at audition.
A typical week for a contracted regional orchestra in the UK would be something like this:
Monday and Tuesday – 6 hours’ rehearsal each day
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and perhaps Saturday and/or Sunday – travelling to various venues (maybe 200 miles/300 km each day), doing a 3-hour rehearsal, playing a concert, travelling back home and arriving home late (you won’t often get the luxury of a hotel overnight!!). Up again in the morning, being expected to perform at your best again. This will be for 48-50 weeks of the year.
Of course, you will get time off to compensate for long hours you work but being in a travelling orchestra is very demanding.
On top of all this orchestral work, you will need to do your private practice and learn the music for the following week (conductors will take a very dim view if you can’t play the notes – it’s not HIS job to teach you to do that). There are no lectures or masterclasses in a professional orchestra – there simply isn’t time. In any case, you are expected to have mastered your instrument by that time. If you still want lessons from anyone (and many do throughout their careers), you have to find that money yourself.
In a professional orchestra, you will be expected to be able to play the most difficult of music (you won’t get through your audition if you can’t, anyway).
Pay is not very good. In the UK a rank-and-file string player will only get around £20,000 per anuum (before tax). Principals get more. In the USA, musicians get paid nearly double that. But it’s still not great pay when you consider the years of dedication and training (and continuous work) that have to go in year-in, year-out. Usually this is paid monthly into your bank account. There are very few fringe benefits on top of this (although I believe you get medical cover with some American orchestras – we don’t need it in the UK because we care about our people if they get ill)
If you are seriously considering this job as a career be aware of what I have written. Playing in an orchestra isn’t just something nice to do in your spare time; it’s a full-time job which makes huge demands of you – and sometimes you have to work with people you might not like (or worse!).
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