I know that I’m lucky to have the job that I do – I’m playing in a major (according to the American Symphony Orchestra League) orchestra that pays a living wage in a great city. I’m doing what I trained for almost 20 years to do. I get that. So are a lot of other people: lawyers, doctors, CEO’s, dog-sitters, etc. But do they get the “but it must be so great to be living your dream” line every time, like I do, and most musicians do? I’m sure it goes back to the fact that music is seen as a recreational activity (but why don’t professional athletes get the same query, or do they?), as an avocation rather than a vocation. And why don’t people realize that we’re doing a job, like those other folks? You don’t ask your doctor friend, after she’s seen 60 patients in one day, trying to meet an HMO quota, how it is to be a doctor, to be “living her dream”, and why is she burned out and grouchy after a long day “living her dream”? No, because you realize that she is doing a difficult job, making less money than she would have 15 years ago due to the health care mess in this country, and that even though she loves it, it makes her crazy, too. Just like your accountant, wine steward, or organic farmer. Yes, I’m “living my dream”, but I’m also working my job, and I’m thankful that I’m doing both, but please leave the Disney fantasy about the “Wonderful World of Music” at home.
