How hard could it be to play the horn in an orchestra??
Hello. My name is Wallace Easter and I’ve been principal horn with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra for the past 27 years! The RSO isn’t my “day job” though. My main “gig” is Professor of Horn at Virginia Tech, a satisfying, stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable way to make a living. The RSO is a highly professional part time commitment for most of the contracted musicians but the RSO gets a lion’s share of my professional energy over and above my duties to the Music Department at Tech.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to help keep the orchestral music of the masters a vibrant component of southwest Virginia’s cultural identity. I’m also grateful for the atmosphere of appreciation which exists for the orchestra in this area. The high quality of our musical product is not the only consideration but is vitally important to achieving the larger goal of the socially interactive concert experience. A perfect concert played to an empty hall would be a devastatingly disappointing event. The importance of the audience and support staff to the musicians on stage can’t be over emphasized. From every indication I’ve seen RSO patrons, staff, Board of Directors and musicians GET IT!
This, unfortunately, is not the always the case in other cities. I’ve included a link to a recent article in the New York Times. In this article, music critic Allen Kozinn takes aim at some recent horn playing in the New York Phil. In my veiw Mr. Kozinn seems to have lost sight of the objective of public performance. Read this if you haven’t ever considered the high stakes involved in being a professional musician or are interested in reading some of the sharpest barbs ever directed at a horn player or horn section. Click here for the article. If you do get a chance to read it, I’d be interested in hearing your observations.
Sincerely,
Wallace Easter
Principal Horn
Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
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