Why I'm leaving America
Posted: February 15th, 2012, 9:44 am
In an effort to restore quality to this forum, I figured that I would contribute a thread as to why I am going abroad, and what my plans are. Mind you, things have changed since I first joined, along with my original intentions. But nonetheless, I have bona fide plans to leave. Here are my reasons:
1) As a professional freelancer in symphony orchestras, America is the wrong place for me to make a solid living as a french horn player. Respect and captivation for the performing arts is not as strong here as it is in Europe. Here in America, a solid majority and their idea of "culture" is NASCAR, Demolition Derby, sports, drinking, and sport spectatorship. "The arts" consist of thug crap rap, hip hop and the regurgitated pop artist mill. Just by cultural values alone here, a musicians pipeline of work is adversely affected by the the attitudes and tastes of its citizenry.
2) The current outlook for symphony orchestras in America is fiscally unstable due to the economic climate. Current event example being Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra recently filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Most players are staying beyond their original retirement to hold on to steady pay and have a better pension when they get out, so waiting around twiddling for your fingers for a chair in a major paying orchestra to open up is foolish. There are 30-40 other players scratching and clawing for the same position in a fiercely competitive audition when that chair does open up either by the person retiring, dying or getting fired. Those are shitty odds. There is no in-between with orchestral performance here. Either orchestras are a paid gig, and a fine collective of musicians which you have to audition for (or some cases know someone), or you go the non-pay route to "get experience". A majority of these non-pay orchestras here (not all) are crappy community groups that can be detrimental to a seasoned professional's musicality. And you are basically paying to play. Pass.
3) I've discussed things at great lengths with my horn colleagues and mentor/teacher and they all concur: as a young budding player eager to make a living as a horn player, I need to be in Europe. The performance opportunities there are greater because all across Europe in general, a major city is not without an endowed and fiscally secure symphony or philharmonic, and an opera or ballet hub as well. Quite a few players do double duty as symphony players and opera/ballet orchestra musicians so pay is supplemented quite well. Some cities & countries even have what are called "Radio Symphonies" where they broadcast live performances of Classical music. The most famous examples I can think of are the Czech Bratislava Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Those are also handsomely salaried gigs as well.
I have enough banked away to make a move over, however a steady income stream while I embark on auditions and various freelance projects is key for me. I do have a job offer for an orchestra overseas which I took, but it is only for one year. I have considered a TEFL certification as a possible solution to remain there, so I have started looking into that. For those of you who have experience in this avenue, your input and knowledge is greatly appreciated!
1) As a professional freelancer in symphony orchestras, America is the wrong place for me to make a solid living as a french horn player. Respect and captivation for the performing arts is not as strong here as it is in Europe. Here in America, a solid majority and their idea of "culture" is NASCAR, Demolition Derby, sports, drinking, and sport spectatorship. "The arts" consist of thug crap rap, hip hop and the regurgitated pop artist mill. Just by cultural values alone here, a musicians pipeline of work is adversely affected by the the attitudes and tastes of its citizenry.
2) The current outlook for symphony orchestras in America is fiscally unstable due to the economic climate. Current event example being Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra recently filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Most players are staying beyond their original retirement to hold on to steady pay and have a better pension when they get out, so waiting around twiddling for your fingers for a chair in a major paying orchestra to open up is foolish. There are 30-40 other players scratching and clawing for the same position in a fiercely competitive audition when that chair does open up either by the person retiring, dying or getting fired. Those are shitty odds. There is no in-between with orchestral performance here. Either orchestras are a paid gig, and a fine collective of musicians which you have to audition for (or some cases know someone), or you go the non-pay route to "get experience". A majority of these non-pay orchestras here (not all) are crappy community groups that can be detrimental to a seasoned professional's musicality. And you are basically paying to play. Pass.
3) I've discussed things at great lengths with my horn colleagues and mentor/teacher and they all concur: as a young budding player eager to make a living as a horn player, I need to be in Europe. The performance opportunities there are greater because all across Europe in general, a major city is not without an endowed and fiscally secure symphony or philharmonic, and an opera or ballet hub as well. Quite a few players do double duty as symphony players and opera/ballet orchestra musicians so pay is supplemented quite well. Some cities & countries even have what are called "Radio Symphonies" where they broadcast live performances of Classical music. The most famous examples I can think of are the Czech Bratislava Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Those are also handsomely salaried gigs as well.
I have enough banked away to make a move over, however a steady income stream while I embark on auditions and various freelance projects is key for me. I do have a job offer for an orchestra overseas which I took, but it is only for one year. I have considered a TEFL certification as a possible solution to remain there, so I have started looking into that. For those of you who have experience in this avenue, your input and knowledge is greatly appreciated!