What I Have Learned Playing in the Most International Orchestra in the World
I am a professional musician, meaning that I pay the bills playing and teaching music. I am very lucky. And I am even luckier still to be working in what is likely the most international orchestra in the world.
I play bassoon in the Symphony Orchestra of India. My orchestra is very young (the first concert was 2006) and was established in Mumbai, a place and country without a strong tradition of western classical music. Thus most of my colleagues are not from India (although we are trying to change that).
At the time of writing I had just completed four years in the SOI. Looking forward to the upcoming year I have been reflecting upon what I have learned so far. I am sharing this list and will allow you to translate how my experiences could apply to your work.
You have to be flexible
Over the last four years I have played music with people from 47 different countries. The world is more globalized than ever before but I am here to tell you that approaches to music making are still very regionally specific. That is actually a good thing, and why the Chicago Symphony sounds different from the Berlin Philharmonic while both groups are still world class ensembles.
The only way musicians from all of these different places can get together and make high-quality results is for everyone to adapt. Those with dogmatic approaches to music making have not been asked back to my orchestra.
You have to be fast
Learn your music right away. Quickly adapt to the people around you. Adjust immediately to unforeseen issues (like when the air conditioning malfunctions in a tropical climate and thus drastically altering the physics of your instrument). Respond to nonverbal cues accurately. React to instructions that were given in Russian and not translated.
Time is money in any orchestra. You should always be trying to make your art phenomenal but there is a virtue in simply being in line and allowing the process to flow without interruption.
You have to be independent
I genuinely believe that with any skill on any given day you are either getting better or you are getting worse. There is no such thing as maintaining. Maybe you see things differently but I have to speak from my own experiences.
If I was working in an American orchestra there would be abundant opportunities for professional development. In my orchestra I have to take responsibility for my own growth. If I don’t end the day a better musician than I started then it means I am going backwards.
You have to be solid
The typical woodwind section of an orchestra consists of eight to twelve players. In the past four years, 42 different players have been used in the woodwind section of my orchestra. I am the only person to play all of those concerts. And I don’t expect the competition to get any easier.
The irony though of musical competition is that when I do my job well it makes it easier for the other players to do their jobs well. The only way for the orchestra to sound good is for each of us to sound good together. Thus approaching my job as though I have to be the best is counterproductive. Instead, I have to be determined to do my best.
You have to be a great teacher
Again, I play in a young orchestra in India, a place without a strong tradition of western classical music. I am expected to train the next generation of local players. Simply sitting in my chair and playing music is not enough and if that is all I wanted to do then I would lose my job.
Teaching music is not the same as playing music. If you are cynical about the art of teaching then please jump to the next section because I am here to tell you that teaching is an art. Yes, my ability to play music at a high level is good for my students and they do benefit from copying my playing.
But teaching is so much more. A mentor once said to me that the art of teaching is making the complex simple. My perspective is that only by making the complex simple is how I can teach my students to one day be better than me.
You have to be able to do your job when you are sick
The fact is that nobody in the country can do my job. In one day I might have to:
- Play bassoon in concert at a professional level
- Teach a conservatory level trumpet lesson
- Teach a conservatory level clarinet lesson
- Present a music history class
- Write a musical arrangement
- Plan an outreach music workshop
- Audition students for a showcase concert
At the time of writing, that day was yesterday. Thankfully I was not sick! In fact, there is a virtue in making sure that you stay healthy. Frankly, I consider it a professional requirement to go running four or five times a week, to eat right, to get at least 50 hours of sleep a week amongst other things.
Coda — have fun!
I started this article stating that I am very lucky. Simply being able to make a living in the music industry is a blessing. But this blessing is not without sacrifices. I mean we all have our own professional and personal frustrations. We all have to deal with those frustrations and do our work but we must still find as much bliss as possible.
You have to see the sunrise on the Ganges River. You have to feel how the marble of the Taj Mahal is cold even when it is 100 degrees outside. You have to make love on a Sunday afternoon during a monsoon thunderstorm.
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About the author: Stuart Potter plays bassoon in the Symphony Orchestra of India and teaches music at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. He writes about various topics including music, education, and arts policy. More information at www.stupotter.com. Also follow him @stoorrific and he might learn to use Twitter…
