Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Hochberg
Ken, I think I may have met you at guitarist Ross Traut's loft on 27th St. I think maybe you had just started making basses. Sound familiar?
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?? Nope, no recall, sorry
I would like to add that the Economy is not limited to Jazz and Commercial Gigs. The Orchestra world has been suffering at least as much if not more.
For the most part, the better players get the better gigs, but not 100% of the time. One thing for sure is that there are more players than Jobs now.
Take for example the NY Phil. Over a 2 year period on two separate invites, about 350 people auditioned for a spot or two. The first was to replace Lew Norton when he retired and of the 200, no one got the gig. The second, about 150 I heard showed up. Zip again in the Hires and 1 or 2 more spots opened up between the first 200 and the next 150 tried out.
I know they are using Sub's whenever needed to fill out the section per concert/series. From a business standpoint the Sub's probably do not get all the benefits and frills that the regulars do so it's cheaper 'not' to hire anyone permanently. On the other hand, there are probably union minimums for the Orchestra per section. Using Sub's I would guess satisfies the minimums required. One auditionee that I know was offered to be on the sub list. He asked me on the phone if he should accept and I said "of course. Next time you audition there you will more comfortable and relaxed from playing there already." This person already has a Job in another Orchestra but is looking to move up, like many.