Virtual Discussion Panel
:: Life in the Pit
:: 7/9/07 - 7/13/07
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About this Virtual Discussion (Click to Hide)
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Ann DrinanSenior Editor |
Most orchestra musicians have had enough experience of pit work to know that it's very different from playing the standard orchestral repertoire on stage. To help us understand just how different it is, and why, we've assembled a knowledgeable and experienced group of musicians who've spent most of their careers out of the view of the audience.
During the course of this week, we plan to explore the joys and unique concerns of our colleagues who play for opera and ballet companies; of course most of these issues pertain to musicians performing in musical theater as well.
To start the discussion, we've asked each of the panelists how they got started specializing in pit work, and what it is about that work that has kept them there.
Panelists
Robert Levine's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Robert LevineSenior Editor |
Robert Levine and Ann Drinan are both moderating this VDP but the software only lets us give credit to one moderator. So Robert Levine appears as the first panelist.
We'll use this spot to pose additional moderator questions to the panel during the week.
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Cynthia Babin Anderson's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Cynthia Babin AndersonOboist, Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra |
I have been playing 2nd oboe and English horn with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra for over 12 years. As a young musician planning a career, I never foresaw myself as a "pit musician," but it has turned out to be more artistically satisfying than I ever imagined. The music of opera is physically, technically, and artistically demanding in ways that symphonic music is not. I find that it calls for softer pianissimos, more precise accompaniment playing, more exposed section playing, more endurance. And while some of the standard romantic ballet repertoire isn't exactly profound music, there is much in the ballet orchestral repertoire that is superb.
But for me, the real difference between the concert stage and pit work (opera, ballet, and musical theater) is feeling that you're part of a magical event that transcends the sound you are making. You're part of the drama on the stage that, guided by a director or a choreographer, moves the audience on a completely difference level than in symphonic music alone. The lights go down, the audience hushes, and the disembodied music from the pit transports the listener without the visual distraction of watching the musicians produce the sound - the music is just a natural part of the world you are entering, like the air you're breathing.
Of course, not being the focal point of the performance has disadvantages. Too many ballet companies think recorded music is just as good, and cheaper, than live. Too many musical theater producers think the orchestra can be piped in from a remote location, cut to bare bones, or replaced altogether with synthesizer or computer technology. No one talks of eliminating live ballet or musical theater, but the orchestra is fair game for anyone who wants to save money. Reduction in orchestra size, replacement by recordings or synthesized technology, even replacement of pit musicians by actors onstage "playing" instruments - our very existence is threatened because we're not visible. We can never let "out of sight" become "irrelevant."
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Christina Berman's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Christina BermanBassist, Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera Orchestras |
My first experience in the pit was during my last year at NEC. We put on Marriage of Figaro, which is still one of my favorites. For the first time, I became aware that symphony orchestras are not all there is in classical music, and I decided that opera was a venue deserving of exploration. It was actually several years later, after I had moved back to Georgia where I grew up, that I took an audition for the Atlanta Ballet, mostly as a way to break into the Atlanta freelance scene. Only once I started playing in the orchestra, did I remember how much I had enjoyed my earlier experience in the pit. Now a member of the Atlanta Opera as well, I'm thrilled to have found a way to spend so much of my time in that role.
What I've always loved about playing in an orchestra is the feeling of being a part of something greater. In the pit, that feeling is magnified. Working in the pit is both easier and harder than playing in the symphony orchestra. On the one hand, you are less on display. The musicians of a pit orchestra support the show instead of being the show. On the other hand, there is a much greater responsibility to get things right. If a singer or dancer does something drastically differently from the night before, a pit musician has to be paying close enough attention to follow it exactly. The alternative is an unintentional solo and possible confusion on stage. They're following us too. I enjoy being a vital cog in that huge musical machine. It's exciting to see how all the pieces almost magically fit together, and it's exciting to see how the audience reacts to that.
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Ann Lobotzke's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Ann LobotzkeHarpist, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra |
I have been principal harpist with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra since 1983. I was in graduate school when I won the position. Little did I know that through the years I would serve the orchestra not only as harpist, but as union steward, ROPA delegate, and, at various times, as member of the orchestra committee, music director search committee, artistic advisory committee, and strategic planning session. Additionally, I have chaired several negotiating committees.
Playing in the pit, whether for the ballet or for musical theater is one of my favorite things to do. There is no shortage of challenging music to play. Indeed, the challenge is increased when an already complicated piece of music must be tailored to accompany the dancers. We play for several different casts, and we must be prepared to alter our tempi to provide the support that each dancer needs. One of the things that I find most thrilling about performing in the pit is the feeling of being part of a massive production. There are so many pieces that fit together to form a moving picture for our audience. The dancers, musicians, wardrobe, crew, lighting, props, and set design are all necessary components.
A unique feature of our ballet orchestra is that the musicians, while not the primary "product," represent the company's history. The short shelf life of a dancer's career means that while some members of the orchestra have been there since the Milwaukee Ballet Company's inception in 1971, we have seen generations of dancers pass through the company. As with any orchestra, we have been through many of life's rites of passages together. This includes the death of our long time music director, Daniel Forlano, during a rehearsal in 1995.
I was already a member of the union when I became a member of the ballet orchestra. I had joined several years earlier when I was required to do so for another job. When I first joined the orchestra, we had no collective bargaining agreement. I never thought too much of my union membership until I sat on my first negotiating committee. I realized then the power there was in the union of musicians. Over the years the AFM has been there to educate us and provide us with negotiators who have guided us through the increasingly murky waters of negotiating our contracts.
Our biggest challenge is maintaining live music for each series. The orchestra has become increasingly dispensable in the last few years. When I joined the orchestra in 1983 we performed 5 week-long series each season, in addition to a 3 week run of Nutcracker. Last season the orchestra was used for 2 series, and a 2 week run of Nutcracker. A 3rd series which was originally offered to us was reprogrammed and set to taped music.
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Stephen Mosher's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Stephen MosherBassoonist, National Ballet of Canada Orchestra |
The first time I ever thought of pit playing was when I read an ad in the International Musician which announced a bassoon opening for a National Ballet tour of the US, which I thought was a great way to get paid to travel. I was 16 at the time and my first tour at age 22 had me hooked. I've always enjoyed the repertoire and the National Ballet has a touring mandate which includes a reduced orchestra for most engagements.
Once I was established in the orchestra and we developed a collective agreement, I became interested in the health and safety aspects of pit playing. We have a vital live theatre community in Toronto and about 20 years ago, we had a series of unfortunate mishaps in the pits. That spurred me to join the Ministry of Labour Advisory for Live Performance where we develop guidelines for all aspects of theatre performance.
Working with the National Ballet and as a regular extra with the Canadian Opera Company has allowed me to cobble together a reasonable living performing with a good bunch of people. Of course there are challenges, some particularly difficult, and I'm sure we'll address a few of them this week.
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Comments for Stephen Mosher
Nancy Nelson's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Nancy NelsonTimpanist, Houston Grand Opera & Houston Ballet Orchestras |
I am principal timpanist of the Houston Ballet Orchestra and have served in this capacity for the past five years. Previous to that, I served as section percussion for 14 years.
I am also principal timpanist of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and have held this chair since its inception in the mid 1990s.I have served on orchestra committees and negotiating committees of both orchestras, and I am currently the ROPA delegate. I have almost exclusively performed in pit orchestras since my career began in 1977, first touring with Houston Ballet for two years and then with Texas Opera Theater for ten years.
[Moderator's note: we sent a list of issues to the panelists that we plan to cover during the course of the week.]
All of the issues you have listed are problems we deal with on a daily basis. Temperature and wind problems are a problem as well. In addition to never having enough room is the question of safety in case of a fire. Entrances and exits are often hazardous. In some instances the musicians are trapped in the pit during performances, solely at the mercy of the person backstage raising and lowering the pit. There is also the problem of musicians leaving and entering the pit during performances and rehearsals, causing distraction to musicians trying to play.
Musicians who may have physical handicaps often must climb many steps to get to their place in the pit.
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Ethan Silverman's Opening Statement (Click to Hide)
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Ethan SilvermanBassoonist, New York City Ballet Orchestra |
I was asked to render my thoughts on what makes playing in a pit orchestra different from playing in a symphony orchestra. In fact, the difference is less than one might think.
What immediately comes to my mind is the lack of space in most orchestra pits, compared to most concert stages. The pit is usually a cramped place, and the seating layout is usually less than optimal. The various sections of the orchestra are often unable to sit in the normal configuration, making it more difficult the hear balances properly. Where I work, at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, our orchestra of 63 musicians is splayed out horizontally in a pit that cries out for more depth vertically; our pit is very wide, but very shallow. As a result, hearing what is going on from left to right is a real obstacle that hinders the overall performance level.
The atmosphere during performances in the pit is more "homey" and less formal than on a stage - a little more laid back. This, I think, has not to do with taking matters any less seriously, nor does it lessen the artistic level. It is simply because the orchestra is less visible when in the pit. We can talk quietly in the pit; we do not talk on stage. Some players discreetly read books and magazines or do crosswords during their tacet sections. Some even send text messages during performances, without anybody out there knowing. Wind players place elaborate sound shields of dense, opaque materials, which would never be allowed on a concert stage, between them and the brass.
Unlike the performance schedule of a typical symphony orchestra, which usually rehearses and performs one program per week, pit orchestras usually have to prepare and perform much more varied repertoire. Our company, the New York City Ballet, performs several different programs of mixed works in any given week. That could mean as many as thirteen or fourteen different pieces of music to be rehearsed and performed in a week. If this leads you to conclude that we do not always have the opportunity to rehearse each piece to the point where it ought to be, you are not at all wrong. But even more striking is that we spend at least half of our very limited rehearsal time in the capacity of "accompanist" to the dancers, while they rehearse. To all this add the fact that the Company has a seven performance work week, considerably more than a typical orchestra.
How does one get started into specializing in pit work? By chance. Few people are truly "born" to be pit players. A few do aspire to it, but most, I would say, have playing in orchestra pits thrust upon them. Certainly, none regret it.
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General Comments on This Discussion (Click to Hide)
Jay Blumenthal
Jay Blumenthal