Here are the answers to some questions we're often asked:
Who's on stage?
There are 65 full-time and 9 part-time Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony, but we can't always do it alone. For a large-scale work like Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, we rely on an experienced group of extra musicians who also regularly perform with the Dallas Opera and Dallas Symphony. We are a diverse assemblage hailing from dozens of states and countries, bound by our love of symphonic music and our mission to deliver a thrilling and unequaled concert experience to the Fort Worth community.
How much do you practice?
We take our work home with us! An hour or two daily at home is the minimum to hone our skills - string players must drill scales to fine tune their pitch, wind and brass players maintain embouchure, with oboists and bassoonists constructing their own reeds of bamboo. Percussionists also arrive at work hours ahead of time to perfect the logistical layout of their many instruments.
The full orchestra spends ten hours together over three to four days to rehearse a symphonic program, but we are each required to be prepared for the first rehearsal as if it were a performance. For notoriously tricky repertoire, it's not unusual for a player to have spent hundreds of hours over his lifetime on a passage that goes by in a few seconds. Because we plan our playing time judiciously to avoid injury, significant periods of time are also spent studying and listening after the instrument is put away.
Where do you play?
The Fort Worth Symphony's roughly 150 concerts per season take place not just a Bass Performance Hall, but at over 20 different schools, places of worship, and venues in neighboring communities. We also accompany the Fort Worth Opera and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Special projects include playing side-by-side with the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth and performing a conducting masterclass with Fort Worth Independent School District music teachers. If you want to see in casual garb, you'll have to visit Concerts in the Garden each June and July. Of course, none of these concerts would be possible without the staff of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association, including our music librarians, personnel manager, and stagehands.
How did you get here?
The audition process in a professional orchestra is rigorous, to be euphemistic. There are typically over one hundred applicants for a single position, and audition candidates pay their own travel and lodging expenses. For a cellist, this means buying two seats on the plane, and oversize baggage fees for a tubist or bassist. To be offered employment with the Fort Worth Symphony, a musician must demonstrate the most difficult works for his instrument over the audition's three rounds, often occurring during one prolonged, marathon-like day.
Are you in a union?
While we're busy presenting the greatest symphonic works ever composed, we, along with nearly all American and Canadian orchestral musicians, choose to be represented by the American Federation of Musicians. The AFM advocates for musicians' specific needs, for example, supporting the 2012 FAA bill that allows us to carry our fragile instruments on board airlines. We are also active in AFM governance through the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians. Although Texas is a right-to-work state, the AFM membership rate of the Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony is 100%.
Who's on stage?
There are 65 full-time and 9 part-time Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony, but we can't always do it alone. For a large-scale work like Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, we rely on an experienced group of extra musicians who also regularly perform with the Dallas Opera and Dallas Symphony. We are a diverse assemblage hailing from dozens of states and countries, bound by our love of symphonic music and our mission to deliver a thrilling and unequaled concert experience to the Fort Worth community.
How much do you practice?
We take our work home with us! An hour or two daily at home is the minimum to hone our skills - string players must drill scales to fine tune their pitch, wind and brass players maintain embouchure, with oboists and bassoonists constructing their own reeds of bamboo. Percussionists also arrive at work hours ahead of time to perfect the logistical layout of their many instruments.
The full orchestra spends ten hours together over three to four days to rehearse a symphonic program, but we are each required to be prepared for the first rehearsal as if it were a performance. For notoriously tricky repertoire, it's not unusual for a player to have spent hundreds of hours over his lifetime on a passage that goes by in a few seconds. Because we plan our playing time judiciously to avoid injury, significant periods of time are also spent studying and listening after the instrument is put away.
Where do you play?
The Fort Worth Symphony's roughly 150 concerts per season take place not just a Bass Performance Hall, but at over 20 different schools, places of worship, and venues in neighboring communities. We also accompany the Fort Worth Opera and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Special projects include playing side-by-side with the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth and performing a conducting masterclass with Fort Worth Independent School District music teachers. If you want to see in casual garb, you'll have to visit Concerts in the Garden each June and July. Of course, none of these concerts would be possible without the staff of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association, including our music librarians, personnel manager, and stagehands.
How did you get here?
The audition process in a professional orchestra is rigorous, to be euphemistic. There are typically over one hundred applicants for a single position, and audition candidates pay their own travel and lodging expenses. For a cellist, this means buying two seats on the plane, and oversize baggage fees for a tubist or bassist. To be offered employment with the Fort Worth Symphony, a musician must demonstrate the most difficult works for his instrument over the audition's three rounds, often occurring during one prolonged, marathon-like day.
Are you in a union?
While we're busy presenting the greatest symphonic works ever composed, we, along with nearly all American and Canadian orchestral musicians, choose to be represented by the American Federation of Musicians. The AFM advocates for musicians' specific needs, for example, supporting the 2012 FAA bill that allows us to carry our fragile instruments on board airlines. We are also active in AFM governance through the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians. Although Texas is a right-to-work state, the AFM membership rate of the Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony is 100%.
