Room at the Top: Insights on Succeeding in the World's Most Elite Orchestras
Someone asked a great question on one of my posts this week:
“Do you know the percentage of graduating musicians who actually win jobs in full-time professional orchestras?”
That’s a great question, and one that you should be asking yourself if you're considering a life in classical music.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
I don't know the actual percentages, but here’s my guess:
Comparing the number of full-time, 52-week professional orchestras in the United States to the number of students who graduate with performance degrees, I would guess the answer is a percentile in the single digits.
Does that mean you shouldn't consider going into music?
Not at all. First, I strongly believe that you should follow your heart when choosing careers and degrees. Even if something doesn’t work out, you will have tried. Besides, music degrees have been shown to give you an edge with prospective employers if you go into a different field. So you win either way.
But there’s something else people aren’t considering. They don’t realize that most people who don’t win jobs didn’t “understand the assignment.”
What’s not to understand? Let me explain…
I often hear: “There's no room at the top. There are too many great players and not enough jobs!”
That’s only partially true.
I know from my teaching that there are a lot of great players out there. But I know from all of my audition committee experience that very few of them “bring it” when they need to. As far as auditions go, there’s A LOT of room at the top.
Let’s take 100 imaginary auditioners. It doesn't matter what instrument––violin, flute, bassoon, trumpet, etc. In our scenario, 100 prepared candidates come and play an excerpt list.
Take a guess—what percentage of those players manage to demonstrate competency? I’m talking the basics:
Pitch
Time
Rhythm
Sound
Correct tempos and style
Musical expression
The number is usually about 10%. I’m not exaggerating.
That means that 90% of players haven’t figured out how to demonstrate basic competency at auditions. Pay attention—I’m not saying they’re NOT competent. I’m saying they don’t know how to demonstrate it under pressure.
Q. What is the top 10% doing differently? What have they figured out, and how can you get into that top 10%?
The top 10% have a smart strategy. How did they get it? The hard way is lots of trial and error (which is what I did). The easier way is to work with a teacher with lots of audition experience. I’m here to say that there’s lots of room at the top. You know where there’s no room? At the bottom, where the 90% are hanging out. It’s REALLY crowded down there!
I hope it’s clear that I’m not saying you have to work HARDER (because I assume you’re already doing that). You need to work SMARTER, with more information, and in a way that makes it possible for you to play your best under pressure.
I hope this message makes you feel optimistic. For my part, I was not a naturally gifted trumpet player. I was musical, but I wasn’t very accurate. To make it worse, I had no idea how to audition. And this was AFTER I graduated with a master’s degree from a “fancy” music school. I had to build my playing technique and audition strategy, long after I should have had my act together.
My ultimate goal is to make it easier for more people to have access to audition strategy. It shouldn’t be so expensive and so mysterious. The earlier students learn this information, the earlier they can incorporate it into their practice routine. In fact, this information should be part of the basic curriculum for any music major.
It took me years and many, many thousands of dollars to succeed. I thought of quitting at least once a week. It was awful, until I won. And then it was amazing. If I did it, you can, too. But please find an easier path than I did. Please seek out the right people with the right information so you can reach your goal without wasted time, money, and stress.
Want to dig deeper on this topic? Let’s connect. As a reader of this blog, my schedule is open to you. Find a time to connect for a (totally free) 30 minute discovery call by clicking this link:
<<BOOK A CALL>>
I’m looking forward to our chat,
Chris @ Honesty Pill
P.S. If you are ready to summit your own audition mountain, check out my 16-week Audition Accelerator Course. It’s time to face the music, but you don’t have to do it alone.
