Professional level performances are expensive

Comment

Comment by Kurt Kaufman on August 3, 2009 at 6:02am

Re/ Elizabeth's comment:

Elizabeth,
I'm glad to hear that you are involved with a new ensemble, and I wish you the best of luck. I also want to clarify something: It's certainly NOT my intention to discourage anyone from attempting to perform music professionally; it's more of a question of flexibility in not assuming that music will be your sole or even primary source of income. Except for a period of about 10 years when orchestral music was my full-time work, I've had numerous other jobs, some having nothing to do with music.
Considering how isolated musicians can be in their fields (mostly due to rehearsal/performance scheduling in relation to the working lives of most other people), in my opinion this has been a definite advantage.

Comment by elizabeth chaconas on August 2, 2009 at 5:51pm

I am 21, studying music performance at UCF. This is exactly what I am afraid of, no jobs for me in music when I graduate college. But, there is hope. I am apart of a brand new orchestra in Merritt Island, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra. Our first season starts this Sept. Our tickets are only $10 and from what I know, with that and some sponsors and donations, we will be just fine. No matter what happens, like if I have to get a job not in music to survive, I will never stop playing.

Comment by Ira Kraemer on July 30, 2009 at 6:33pm

Kurt Kaufman has hit the nail right on the head. It is a sad commentary on our society when we see that classical music has become such a niche market and a small one at that. I see young musicians who attend the various New York music schools, who practice many hours each day, take theory and ear training classes to become better musicians. When you present them with the reality of making a living from what they are being trained for, many of them realize that the chance to rise to the top is rather unlikely, certainly not impossible, but still unlikely. This fact does not deter them. That is dedication and we should do a better job to at least provide a liviing for them. I fear that this won't happen as classical music slips away from our daily lives not having mass appeal it needs to survive. On the other hand, as conductor of a youth orchestra, I work with many extremely talented young players who play at a very high level. Some of them are very practical and will pursue other fields. The down side is that many will put the instrument in the closet as academic pressures mount unless they are able to take a double major or have the opportunity to participate in an ensemble.

Comment by Kari Keiser on July 30, 2009 at 5:45pm

I have met many people who were not able to make ends meet financially being musicians. As a high school orchestra director, I don't imagine very many of my students will go on to be professional musicians, if any. Yet the value of music education is that by playing an instrument they can appreciate music on a level that is not really attainable to those who have never played. Music is a language that must be both read an "spoken" in order to fully understand it when listening.

Comment by Gus Kovalik on June 22, 2009 at 6:54am

The costs work both ways, to the detriment of the orchestras and to the public. I'm an artist who also works a part-time job, and I love the concerts -- but the escalating prices have driven me away from attending. Just can't afford the tickets unless I get them as gifts on my birthday or at Christmas. The audience is smaller, so they charge more for tickets to meet their expenses, which in turn makes the audience even smaller. A nasty cycle!