Hubbub

In the world of musical instruments and accessories, someone always is laying claim to a breakthrough that will revolutionize clarinet playing as we know it. Every aspect of the instrument is fair game: mouthpieces, ligatures, barrels, bells, thumbrests, key work, pads, reeds… The list is endless. Years ago as a serious music student, I experimented as time and budget allowed. Occasionally there were noticable benefits. But they usually came with a price and ultimately I decided my time was best spent practicing and playing rather than trying equipment.

Thus it was with a great deal of skepticism that I decided to try out the conspicuous brown bells that were popping up everywhere. A friend (and a fine clarinet player) had invited me to drive with him to Backun Musical Services in Vancouver, BC. Read the rest…

[This is the third in a series of posts about my experience with the Federal Way Symphony. The previous post is: Federal Way Symphony Part 2: From Bad to Worse.]

Several weeks of turbulence preceded the first rehearsal of the Federal Way Symphony’s 2007-08 season. A number of musicians–including me–had declined to sign the Symphony’s contract but nonetheless had made clear their desire and intent to continue playing without a contract as they had been doing for the previous three years. Read the rest…

[This is the second in a series of posts about my experience with the Federal Way Symphony. The previous post is: Federal Way Symphony Part 1: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.]

Over the 25+ year reign of the music director, the Federal Way Symphony became known throughout the Seattle-Tacoma region for mistreating musicians, particularly wind players. The orchestra’s reputation was so infamous that it had difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified players both in sub and regular positions. Too many good musicians had been abused, handled unprofessionally, and purged. For those of us who remained committed, particularly in the woodwind section, the enjoyment of playing regularly with other fine musicians won out–barely–over frequent mistreatment and abuse. Read the rest…

I joined the Federal Way Symphony as principal clarinetist at the start of the 2001-02 season. My six year tenure with this small budget, medium sized (50+) professional orchestra has been a mixed bag and has illuminated some of the best and worst aspects of orchestral playing. Read the rest…