Chamber Orchestra
What is a better career? Orchestral or Chamber Music studies?
I play the cello and am going off to college (hopefully a conservatory!) soon, and I can’t decide what is better. Orchestra or Chamber music.
Orchestra playing is fun because there are sometimes over 100 people with you all trying to create ultimatly the same thing; and the end result is usually the most fantastic thing your heart has ever witnessed. But I don’t like how some people can be uncommited and you can’t do anything about it…
And in chamber music, it’s just like an orchestra but smaller. You are working with 2, 3, 4, or 5 people all trying to create the same thing: music. Pouring your hearts out, sharing with one another, trying to send one message. Working together. There’s more control than in an orchestra; but less chance of good money to live off…
So I’m not sure. What do you think? Orchestra, or chamber music? My heart lies with both.
While you are learning music, any playing is both necessary and beneficial. If you plan to make your living in performance, you basically must go where the gig is, and most gigs are with orchestras. You are not limited to major symphony orchestras. There are small chamber ensembles that play music from Bach to Webern. There are ensembles that accompany choirs for major choral works.
I am reminded of violist Ralph Fielding, who, while playing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, also played for film scores (The Parent Trap), audio recordings (Alanis Morissette), and television shows (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Playing in an orchestra is the ultimate team experience, and in most quality orchestras, the players–be they students or professionals–want to be there. Most players will actually care about the music. Most professional musicians spend most of their life in one orchestra or another.
That is not to downplay the importance of chamber music. In contrast to the orchestra, there is no part that is far superior to another. As a result, it is an equal collaboration between all musicians involved. It is much harder to keep a good chamber ensemble together for this reason; I have seen so many good chamber groups fall apart because of the ego (or lack of motivation) of one musician.
Most schools of music nowadays will include curriculum for all aspects of performance. In the case of string players, that includes solo work, playing in a chamber ensemble, and playing in an orchestra. Music performance majors at my school must spend an equal amount of time in all three areas: they spend four years in orchestra, private lessons, and chamber music. There is good literature in all aspects of music.
If you have the option to choose, I would choose the chamber music emphasis. Great chamber musicians typically make great orchestral players. Great orchestral players do not necessarily make great chamber musicians. This is why more summer camps (big name summer camps for professional musicians, not university-sponsored week-long camps) emphasize chamber playing rather than orchestral playing.
This is not to say, however, that you should ignore becoming a good orchestral musician. Even in good, well-established quartets, the individual musicians will gig around the area. You simply have to do what pays the bills. Best of luck to you!
Chamber Orchestra Kremlin / Misha Rachlevsky / Piazzolla Oblivion
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