Universal Brass

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February 8th, 2008 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Universal Brass
General orchestra questions?

I have three questions and I hope you all can help me answer them. I've had these questions in my head for a while.

1) For European or Asian orchestra that English is not the main language in the country, are the musicians over there required to learn English? Since English is sort of a universal language? How would that work with say a Guest conductor? How would they communicate?

2) How exactly do you meet orchestra musicians after a performance? I realized that some performance let audience to go to a room to meet the singers and musicians. I don't think every orchestra let people do that, so how do you guys meet musicians or conductors that you really admire?

3) Sometimes when you are attend a concert and you realize that some musicians have small parts, like they "don't do much". e.g. brass and percussion instruments. I am wondering do they get paid the same? *smiles*

Thank you so much in advance!!!

1. Yes, most people in non-English speaking countries are required to learn English (not just musicians), so if there was an orchestra that had members of all different nationalities, they would probably communicate through English. I played in the European Youth Wind Orchestra before, and even though only seven of us spoke English as our first language, all of the rehearsals were done in English.

2. You can go up to the musicians at the end of the concert. If they're not exiting through the same door as you, then you can probably find the stage door around the back. Most musicians would be delighted to have fans coming up to them.

3. Yep! They all get paid the same!