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Once again I am off, driving far, to do another gig here in south Florida.
As what seems to be usual in this area, compared to what I have been doing in the past (in Sweden) I have to drive to a different location every day for the next 4 days.
Also, no one in the orchestra has seen the music yet and we have a concert tonight after the first and only rehearsal. It is sad when an orchestra can't afford to have multiple rehearsals or a librarian to make copies and send out marked and bowed parts. Half the rehearsal is spent putting in bowings and markings. Usually from my new experiences the last concert is the best and everyone forgets the mistakes made on the first.
It is a little sad to see the lack of interest for culture here. Especially since there are so many tourists here.
To leave a positive note, I am sure that I will enjoy myself and most of the audience won't know the difference.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Just curious on the lack of "culture" down there. "Fiddlerman" suggests other than "culture" to me but I do not mean that in a critical way. So, what is the truth ? Do you play mostly classical or country ?
I was just out at the Appalachian Fiddler's Convention in Boone, NC where they also had competitions going on and there were no tuxes but there was some fantastic music. ( Part of my PLAY FAST enthusiasm. ) Unfortunately, those sort of events do not receive the attention they deserve either. I want to see if I can work up a piece for the competition next year.
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I play mostly Classical because it has been my bread and butter. I love bluegrass as well and hope to find time for more bluegrass, blues, pop, etc. in the near future. When I said lack of culture I was referring to the amount of money available to the arts in Florida compared to the bigger cities in the world including the northern cities in the US. We have a lot of rich people here but they would rather spend their money on bringing Cleveland Symphony Orchestra over for 6 weeks for almost the cost that it would require to have a full time symphony orchestra as they did 7 years ago with the Philharmonic of Florida before it folded.
I consider all arts culture including popular music such as bluegrass, but there is not that much of it going on here either. As far as the name "Fiddlerman" is concerned, I have always referred to my instrument as a fiddle, right or wrong. I prefer that title to violin and in my free time I like to jam and play other types of music.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Yeah, in these difficult times I appreciate NC and the commitment of the people who just "make things happen" even if small scale and mostly seasonal. I would guess that the number of people who play or played is pretty high in NC and there is a lot of music towards Asheville and Tennessee and some good local music on TV and radio.
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I still do from time to time. However, I don't play every single week as I did. In a way I do and in a way I don't. I play a lot more chamber music and solo gigs now a days. The problem with playing in an orchestra is that you are just one of many. Your job is to blend in and play as a section and not create.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Busy, busy!
Do you have a great memorized repertoire or a good library of music or both?
I know I've seen sites for wedding musicians offering maybe 2 or 3 dozen selections but I always assumed that they used printed music?
Online
We have enough music that we could keep playing for 10 hours straight if we had to. However, we usually play from one book of about 80 pieces for all the weddings. Often they request things and we have to get arrangements.
This past Friday I had to play from Piano scores with a pianist and a vocalist. Had to improvise a lot.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
I can understand how a creative person as yourself could want to break away from blending in so to speak. Thank you for your excellent answer.
Online
Thanks Kevin.
Then there is the: Been there, Done that, aspect.
Still doing it too from time to time.
I forgot to mention that one great part of playing in a large group is that you get to know a lot of cool people. That keeps your life rich, aside from the orchestra politics in which you want to stay outside of as much as possible.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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