I think all politicians and world leaders should have at least one experience playing in the back of an orchestra section. The reason I love orchestra so much and want to pursue it for a living--besides for the stable income, fixed location, and obviously the music--is how much it teaches us about the psyche of a community. A superb orchestra is like a model of a perfect society, and an orchestra that can't play together is like...well, what America has turned into. Sure, the inner workings of politics are more complex than the inner workings of an orchestra, but the basic principles are the same. You need a) an insightful, respectful, and inspiring leader, b) intuitive and responsible sub-leaders, c) dedicated individuals who are willing to work just as hard as the leaders above them, and d) mutual appreciation among everyone. This week, rotated to the last stand of the orchestra as we battle our way through Shosty 10, I decided that group c, the dedicated individuals, are actually the most important aspect of an orchestra, more so than the sub-leaders and even the inspiring leader. But group c is also perhaps the hardest to come by.
When you sit in the front of an orchestra, there is so much to think about...being there for the conductor, and also ALWAYS being there for your section. One mistake you make can turn into the downfall of the whole orchestra. It's easy to forget about the people in the back, and it's easy to blame them when things go wrong, because you're so aware of your own investment and hard work. "Ugh, someone in the back keeps playing in the rest!" or "People behind me need to stop rushing," are common thoughts running through a concertmaster or principal's head. Sometimes it's true, the ones in the back are not as hard-working or technically competent. What impresses me most in an orchestra is when the players in the back are just as good/committed as the players in the front. And I do know that it's harder to sit in the back than the front...for a myriad of reasons, which I think are self-evident enough to not mention.
Today in rehearsal, our principal was making bow changes, and usually she passes the information to the stand behind her, and the message travels like a game of Telephone, to the back of the section. However, there's a point (at maybe fifth or sixth stand) where the message just doesn't get passed back anymore, and the rest of us have no idea what's going on. My stand partner was getting really annoyed at this, because it's unfair, and later we'll get blamed for not being uniform with the rest of the section.
This reminded me of a random incident that happened a few days ago. I was waiting for the bus, this trumpet-player introduced himself to me, and we started talking. He was really friendly, and when the bus came, we boarded and continued talking. At one point, a girl who was also on the bus requested to be let off at a street corner, and the bus driver told her no, she couldn't get off there, because he was in the left lane, and he couldn't just pull over to the opposite side of the street. Maybe he said it a bit harshly, I don't know, I wasn't paying much attention. But the trumpet-player found it very rude, and he immediately told the bus driver off for being out of line. By this point, everyone else in the bus had left, except me, the guy, and the bus driver. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, as the two guys embarked on a heated, long-winded argument. I won't go into details, but it got kind of nasty, with the bus driver saying some demeaning things, and the guy next to me defending himself hotly. Finally, we got off the bus, and that was that.
It made me think...about confrontation, and whether I'd be able to stand up for someone else (or myself) in a similar situation. Probably not. But I also found myself feeling bad for the bus driver. And then today in orchestra rehearsal, I started relating this occurrence to my thoughts on sitting in the back. I mean, bus drivers aren't on the very bottom of the totem pole when it comes to occupational hierarchy, but they're not high up either. I think these types of people (group c, in a way) can be very sensitive when they feel looked down upon. When I sit in the front of the orchestra, I know I have some authority, so I'm usually not defensive or insecure...I just feel lucky and try my best. When I'm in the back, it's easier to get offended and feel ignored, by something as simple as when the stand above doesn't bother to pass a message back. Similarly, it was probably easy for the bus driver to get riled up by what appeared to be scolding from a student ten years younger than him.
It makes sense that the most respected/effective conductors are the ones who have sat in the back of their orchestra at one point or another, and the best leaders are the ones who know what it's like to be at the bottom. (Dudamel!) That's why I really think the world would be a significantly better place if politicians played in orchestra. It's all related.
