Lots of auditions for the Grant Park orchestra went up yesterday! Does anyone know what the lodging situation is for out of towners? Do they have something that they offer? Is there a stipend to help cover expenses? Donor homestays?
Anyone know anything about their upcoming Principal Clarinet audition? It’s supposed to be in like less than a week and a half. I ask because I put in my resume and got back that they received it however that’s about the full extent of how much they’ve communicated. No invite/refejction. I’d just like to know if it’s still going on, I’ve sent 2 follow up emails, one last month and one last week and no answer. Is this usual for them? I think it’s kinda odd that an administration would go silent while an audition this big is going on.
Thanks
UPDATE: Finally got a response, and apparently I fell through the cracks and luckily they noticed in time and I finally got an audition time. I figured something like that might’ve happened, I’ve always gotten invitations/rejections like maybe a month in advance instead of a week.
Nearly every time I check Musical Chairs I see their auditions being posted and reposted. Is this a red flag or do their musicians frequently leave for jobs?
It's a training orchestra, similar to New World, except it's a part of Bard College and they offer master's degrees. However there was a thread about TŌN awhile back and a lot of people brought up some problems with how its run, so I'd go back and check that out too.
Hello fellow orchestra community,
I’m a tenured member of a full time orchestra and I’ve been struggling with my administration regarding comp tickets. They deny my request most of the time and and the times I do get one it’s like pulling teeth. I just want my wife whose a big fan of us to come enjoy the concerts without having to pay $200+ every month. Things have been getting pretty tight lately, you know?
Anyway, my personnel manager told me recently that he could make a better case if I could provide any info that says that offering or providing comp tickets on request is standard practice in other orchestras in the US. However, that particular info has been pretty hard to find. If anyone could potentially point me in the right direction, or maybe offer their own experience regarding the topic, I’d grately appreciate it. Is it standard…
If you are in an ICSOM group, I recommend asking your ICSOM rep to post about this in the delegate-L chain. That would be the fastest way to gather responses from other orchestras around the country so you can establish what “industry standards” are for this topic. But without language about comps in your CBA, there is probably nothing you will be able to impose/enforce on your management. Most groups probably see comps as a courtesy to their musicians and a way to help fill up a concert hall, not a required benefit of the musicians and staff’s compensation packages.
What @notabassplayer said is also true in my orchestra- we have a huge hall and we often get 1-4 comp tickets for classical programs, but we often don’t get any comps for films and pop artists since they tend to sell quite well.
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I think your real question is whether or not an out-of-town musician's earned $ will cover summer living expenses and still leave enough $ leftover to be worth one's time. It really all depends on how lucky you get with finding affordable housing (or how connected you are in finding affordable housing), what you consider baseline as livable accommodations & in some cases a tolerable commute, and how much is enough net $. I've known musicians who want out after their first year because they think they lived wretchedly, but they think they still didn't make enough $ to make it worth their time. Others have been going back for decades because they always seemed to score affordable, safe, and livable housing that isn't too far from Millennium Park. For some, making a lot of $ isn't as important to them because they simply want a good summer music festival experience (which it is). It all depends . . . .