Orchestra consultant Thomas Wolf throws down a gauntlet:
Let’s say you are an aging professional athlete who has enjoyed a successful career in your sport but you are no longer competing at a peak professional level. Coaches notice. Fans notice. What are your options? You can retire or risk being cut from the team. Or you might be demoted to the bench or to a lower-level league. But continuing as a starter for a team that wants to win is out of the question.
Now suppose you are a musician? Here your options may be murkier. If you play in the violin section in a major symphony orchestra, you may be able to continue long after your peak playing days are over. Assuming you are not the concertmaster and are not being asked to play solos, chances are you might be able to coast for a long time, performing along with many others who are playing the same part. Since the elimination of mandatory retirement in symphony orchestras and with union protections making it difficult to fire older players, many orchestras include members who look as though they just arrived from a retirement home. If asked to re-audition to win their positions back, most would not pass the test. …
Read on here.
See also: List of longest-serving orchestra players
The post Too old to play in an orchestra? appeared first on Slippedisc.
