musical chairs

Most of you are aware that there is a probation period for all new musicians who enter the orchestra. In our case, it’s a two year process. It’s all set out in our CBA (collective bargaining agreement), a timeline which governs the whole thing. There is a number of members of the player’s section and adjacent sections as well as concerned principals that comprise a committee which reports to the Music Director on the probationary player’s progress and problems (if any).

Part of this process is the dreaded move-up, where the probationary player is moved up to sit with the principal and under the music director’s nose on the front desk. When this happens, I, as the second-chair player, move back to the third chair, which is on the second stand, closest to the audience (the violas sit on the outside in the Oregon Symphony, as opposed to the more common violas inside with cellos outside, arrangement).

This shouldn’t be a big adjustment, but it really is! The sound I hear from the violins across the podium is much reduced, even though my distance from them has only increased by about four or five feet. I cannot hear the first stand, and can’t hear the back of the section, either. It’s a world of difference from being on the front row, much harder, in fact. The visual contact with the concertmaster and principal second violin are harder to achieve, and cellos: forgetaboutit. Every time I move back into the section I appreciate the difficult job that they have to do, one that in many ways is more difficult than mine on the front row. Sure, I sit under the nose of the music director, and have to have my parts learned to a ‘T’ at the first rehearsal (at least theoretically), but if you know what’s going on around you, navigating unfamiliar parts is much easier, and that job is simpler when you’re up front. In the section, you have to rely more on an inner rhythmic pulse, since you may not be able to see the beat as well, acoustics onstage can distort where the rhythmic center is, and you might have a cellist or bassist near you that plays very loud and rushes at the same time. That’s a lot to overcome when you’re expected to play within milliseconds of your principal or the violinist 30 feet away! Think about that next time you see us playing a unison passage in the strings: it’s amazing that it is together at all!

The other adjustment is occurring this week. Our principal, Joël Belgique, is playing the solo viola part to Berlioz’s Harold in Italy this week, so he is not playing the rest of the works on the concert. So, this week I am leapfrogging my usual chair for the hot seat: principal viola. This presents problems of a different sort. I play principal perhaps once a year for one week. It’s a job that takes some getting used to. You need to be communicating visually with the concertmaster and other string principals as well as checking for bowing descrepancies (we’re going up-bow while they’re going down-bow) and making sure that you’re counting like a fiend in the long stretches of rests or in mixed meters. When you add an unfamiliar guest conductor (as we have this week), it only adds to the mix.

I seem to attract big, nasty pieces when I sit principal, and this week is no exception. Stravinsky’s Petruschka is the other big work on the program (aside from Harold) and it’s got a lot of mixed meters, some tricky passage work, and non-intuitive rest structures that can make counting rests an adventure. Last time I sat in the hot seat, it was Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra, and I don’t think I’ve recovered, yet. Again, I find myself in sincere admiration of the fine job that Joël does as our section leader: he is consistent, very low key and un-high-strung, and a very good musician. Not much more that one could ask for, and with our very demanding and uncompromising music director, it’s a hard balance to achieve in that chair.

So, the next time you go to the symphony take a look at the players in all parts of the strings sections, and remember the varying and constant demands that they all face and overcome to play great masterworks for your enjoyment and edification.

UPDATE: Our principal violist, Joel Belgique, is sounding incredible in the Harold in Italy solo part so far in rehearsals, so if you’re able, make a point of getting to the concerts Sunday afternoon or Monday evening to hear him.