The development of technical and musical skills for orchestral playing is a crucial part of any young musician’s life. But understanding how not to prioritise this need over other activities is a cause of much friction between students, teachers, parents and institutions. A colleague and principal player in a London orchestra told me about a recent audition for the post of second violin. All four players accepted to trial could, in his opinion, have stood in front of the orchestra and played their concertos in that evening’s concert, the equal of many of the soloists regularly employed. A convincing solo performance is needed to get through even the first door to an orchestral position.
I asked the mother of a student at Moscow’s Central Music School how much orchestral playing her 15-year-old son takes part in. About 90 minutes a week was the answer. It took her a while to get her head around the concept of holiday courses made up entirely of orchestral playing. An American colleague agreed: at the highest level, talented young students in the US are not doing very much orchestral playing at all; they are honing their skills as soloists.
In everything, balance is crucial. One major US music camp, which is considered very ‘orchestra heavy’, includes three hours of orchestra per day, but also makes time for individual lessons and daily chamber music. This is surely the way forward.
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