Am I mistaken, or is this still part-time and with no job security?
Orchestral societies/symphony leagues/orchestra nonprofits are able to put together darn good symphony orchestras paying musicians a few thousand bucks a year. I’m not keeping track, but I’ve heard that a relative of mine - who plays in a big five-“ish” type of orchestra - is about to be presented with their second pay cut in less than a handful of years, and this with the prices of a very large percentage of all of our expenses having doubled in less than two years (and fuel prices expected to go right back up to where they were, after November).
A pair of industries (full-time college level studio music teaching, and full-time orchestral music playing) - that began to swell in the early 1970s - are definitely (quite quickly) deflating…
YET entry into music conservatories – and conservatory level university music programs - is extraordinarily competitive, and my understanding is that one of these four-year programs can easily cost a quarter of a million bucks. My guess (understanding a little bit about economics, supply/demand, and money supply) is that these tuition rates are charged “because they can”.
The overwhelming majority of us are attracted to music because it’s gratifying and fun. It might be just a little bit more comfortable to repair people’s plumbing or air conditioning for seven or eight hours every day – maybe even nine – and continue to enjoy playing and performing music. There still is time in the day to do that – particularly if the television is turned off and the Facebook/twitter/instagram/etc. accounts are set aside.
sidebar:
I’ve been receiving a lot of gratification lately from mastering a completely new-to-me type of tuba – a German kaiser orchestra B-flat tuba. It’s really pleasing to hear my own progress, and to hear myself improve from one practice session to the next. This has nothing to do with paid engagements. Going off on even another sidebar, I have seen people who – for whatever reason – were no longer able to engage in music performance, and entered into something like an individual sport, because the gratification involved in improving a set of skills (completely outside of any money earning potential) is so attractive/alluring.
