Tuesday (9/21) in a Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) blog post, violinist Jeremy Mastrangelo writes, “As a musician with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, I have found that when I talk to friends who have non-musical jobs about our respective professions, the conversation will often come around to what my work schedule is like. … I have given up on trying to explain the extra hours spent practicing, listening to recordings, teaching, etc., since most people think of music in a very recreational way. … The best way to understand the working conditions of a professional musician is to understand the working conditions of another, much more well-known group of performers: professional athletes. … In order to make it to the professional level, a person must first have exceptional natural physical abilities that are developed from an extraordinarily young age. … There is also the pressure of being expected to perform your best at a specific, pre-ordained time, whether you’re having a day where everything is clicking and feels effortless, or a day where everything you’ve worked on is a struggle and feels alien.”
Posted September 24, 2010
