Orchestra 101: The Money Question

Early in this series I was asked the question how much money can you make playing in an orchestra?

Players in top orchestras do pretty well. There is in every orchestra contract an amount specified that is the minimum annual salary. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra has the highest minimum salary and all of the following symphony orchestras in the United States have a minimum salary into the six figure range: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, National, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. The figures I am looking at writing this post are from 2007 so perhaps a couple others are now over that $100,000 barrier.

In addition there were at least 20 more orchestras that had a base salary over $48,000 in 2007. Those at the upper end of that spectrum included the professional orchestras in Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, St. Louis and the San Francisco Opera, and those toward the lower end of that spectrum included the Chicago Lyric Opera and orchestras in Columbus, Fort Worth, the Kennedy Center, Milwaukee, Nashville, North Carolina, St. Paul, San Diego, and Utah.

What you might make specifically if you played in any of these groups full time will depend on several variables including your exact titled position, variables such as doubling and overscale for certain services, etc. However, speaking generally, you should make a bit more than the minimum salary, and if you play other gigs and teach privately you should have more income than the base.

There are a lot more orchestras I did not mention, some of which are full time but pay just a bit less than the ones already listed and others that pay quite a bit less. Again, if you are industrious you can piece together an income many ways, including combining orchestral playing and public school teaching or a career in another field.

For a perspective on this, earlier this week Bruce Hembd linked to a very interesting article by Ramon Ricker, an individual we both had some contact with when we were students at Eastman. In College Music Performance Majors—A Bridge to Nowhere? Ricker notes that

In any given year there are only about 150 orchestra jobs (on all instruments) that open up in the top 50 orchestras in the U.S.! Unlike many occupations in which people change jobs every two to three years, orchestra musicians tend to stay in a position for a long time….

I apologize if the message you are getting thus far is negative and a little demoralizing, but it’s really not that bad. Based on the high level of talent, dedication and drive that I have witnessed as an Eastman School of Music professor, I’m actually optimistic for the profession. If you go into music with your eyes wide open, realizing that it will take more than just stellar playing for you to have a comfortable and fulfilling life, you will not be disappointed in your career choice. The same sense of gratification that “hooked” you in the first place will continue to do so year after year.

Music has always been a field where individuals create their careers. In the vernacular of the 1970’s we would say, “Make your own scene.” We also used to say, “Where can you do your own thing, and get paid for it too?” That was 40 years ago. Those two statements sound dated today, but they still hold true.

In summary, you can make a living playing in an orchestra to be sure, but there is a realistic fact that there are not a lot of full time openings in the field every year. The key is to be the best applicant and to do your best job if you have the opportunity.

As originally mapped out I had only one more article in this Orchestra 101 series, but as I got working on it I had to split it in two; more notes on orchestral life soon.

Continue reading Orchestra 101