Bar 15 - Bill of Rights

Yesterday a colleague told me of a conductor who, annoyed, recently urged the musicians he was guest conducting to "Listen!" to each other.  I can visualize their reaction.  First the muttered expletives, then the visible slump in the chairs, the checking of watches, cellphones.  Was Maestro wrong?  Should the orchestra be listening to something beyond their own sounds?  Well, "should" is a big word.  No, Maestro is not necessarily wrong, but in my experience, most orchestral musicians would prefer we actually listen more to them before admonishing them for not listening to each other.   Where in the orchestral contract is it written that orchestral musicians are required or expected to listen to each other?  Is it a legitimate expectation?  Let's take this further: What other expectations do we have of the orchestra?  Are they fair?  Are they realistic?  Are they practical?  Do we have the right to expect that strings will vibrate, or that they will match strokes?  That winds will adjust their pitch, or play on adequate reeds?  That orchestral members will look at each other?  Is it really part of their job, as much as we expect or want it to be?  Is it part of their job to practice and prepare for rehearsals?  And what does the orchestra have the right to expect from us?

These are big questions, for which I devised the document below:

ORCHESTRAL BILL OF RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES

ORCHESTRA MUSICIAN’S RIGHTS                                                     

What do I have the right to expect from the conductor?                                               

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

What do I have the right to expect from my colleagues?

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

ORCHESTRA MUSICIAN’S RESPONSIBILITIES

What does the conductor have the right to expect from me?

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

What do my colleagues have the right to expect from me?

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

CONDUCTOR’S RIGHTS

What do I have the right to expect from the orchestra?

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

CONDUCTOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES

What does the orchestra have the right to expect from me?

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                    

I'd urge the reader to consider this carefully, and file it away for future use.  By the way, before, if and when you  list "respect" under any of the categories, "Pesa le tue risposte," as Scarpia urges the Sacristan in Act 1 of Tosca.  

Back to work.