Hot Tip -- by Susan Gillespie

Musically inclined? Enjoy playing by ear and creating your own music? Play the piano, French horn, flute or all of the above? Want to get paid for it? Listen up.

It's not as easy as you think to get started in a performing arts career, particularly with orchestras. But if you want to use your talents to promote and encourage awareness of the arts, the job pool becomes larger.

While in high school, I studied the French horn with the local lead chair in our symphony. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn about her career with the symphony and with time, gradually learn the pros and cons of the performing arts lifestyle.

Performing careers

Cons: low pay. Performing artists are not highly paid unless you are performing virtuosos or are a child protégé! Like my instructor, many teach on the side. Hours of work - weekends and evenings for concerts, with rehearsals during the day. Competition - performing arts careers with symphonies are highly competitive and coveted. You must be able to control your nerves! Auditioning is part of the process - in person and by tape. (Ask me about recording audition tapes in the washroom!)

Plus side: the opportunity to travel outside the province and country and to work with people who are just as passionate about music as you!

Skills needed: an exceptional commitment or "quest" for perfection in performing a piece of music; exceptional hearing to monitor your instrument and your sound within the orchestra; excellent ability to read and interpret music, both for your own instrument and others within the orchestra. Interpreting music means knowledge of tempo, tone, volume (is it a mezzo piano or mezzo forte?) and style of the composer and era.

Having a strong musical background and passion is essential to pursue this career. Do all the research you can! This requires involvement with music in high school concert band, musicals (pit orchestras), local youth orchestras and private music lessons.

Support careers

Beyond the orchestra itself, there are also support jobs in administration. There are people who promote and market the orchestra to the public to try and encourage ticket purchases as well as donations. Business skills, particularly marketing, and knowledge of music are equally important for this position. Knowledge of local demographics and the target audience are essential to make sure the promotional message gets out to the intended public.

Accounting and general office/customer service staff are also employed to sell tickets and ensure all aspects of the concert result in a pleasant experience for customers. Receptionists and secretaries are also involved to keep the proposals and correspondence up to date.

Most symphonies are non-profit charities and do a lot of fundraising. Some orchestras have event co-ordinators. They spend their time dreaming up ideas and ensuring there are opportunities for the orchestra to be involved in community, as well as designing events to bring in as much revenue as possible.

There are many ways to get exposure to these jobs. Volunteer work is a great way to learn about opportunities in the orchestras. This is what I did for a number of months to learn about the business operations of a symphony.

The common theme among performance and administration staff based on my volunteer experience was passion for music. This passion is a driving force for many staff and volunteers.

There are many routes and paths into the performing arts - especially music. Find which one is for you!

(Susan Gillespie is a career counsellor at the Calgary Youth Employment Centre.)