- Playing in a professional orchestra
is a dream for many
if not most serious Young instrumentalist's.
My own orchestral career,
began when I auditioned
for the Rochester Philharmonic
at the age of 24.
Maybe it was just beginner's luck,
but I did a job as Second flutist
and solo piccoloist with the RPO.
I played with them for seven years
and during that time continued to take auditions.
My next job was as assistant principal
with the San Francisco Symphony
where I played for five years.
After that, I moved to the Boston Symphony
where for seven years I was assistant principal
and Principal of the Boston Pops.
And for my last three years in Boston,
was acting principal flutist of the BSO.
There are several character traits
that help a person
to have a successful orchestral career.
The first would be confidence.
You have to be confident in your ability
to play the job.
And you have to have confidence
that your performance will be appreciated.
You have to be a perfectionist.
Perfectionism is important
when your working on excerpts
and taking auditions,
but it's also important
in the day to day job situation in an orchestra.
Persistence, I would even go so far as to say
dogged persistence is necessary
in the pursuit of an orchestral career.
Especially if you're hoping to audition
for other orchestra's.
Mental toughness is essential as well.
You have to develop superb powers of concentration
and you also have to be very resilient.
This means that if a conductor asks you
to do something differently
or appears annoyed at what you've just done,
that you're able to respond appropriately.
And not feel defeated
or as if you would like to walk of the stage in tears.
Lastly and I think this is very important.
You have to have the ability
to get along well with people.
Playing in an orchestra is more
than just playing the notes well.
It's about making music with others
and your ability to be a good colleague
is very important to cultivate.