Rumman # 1

Mayda Nicole Rumman

Professor

ENC 1101

Monday, November 6th, 2017

Paper 2

Orchestra: Behind the Curtains

My parents felt it was very important for my sister and I to be a part of a group or team in

order to learn those unique skills. As a violinist, orchestras have always fascinated me. Anytime I

heard a symphony, or was lucky enough to watch a performance, I got emotional and inspired to

work hard to become a part of it. The idea that numerous musicians come together, as one, to

create a beautiful piece was always powerful and empowering to me. I felt, that if I could play a

one and a half hour Shostakovich symphony, then I could do anything. Being a member of an

orchestra allowed me to learn so much about the group as a whole, the people within it, and

myself as a musician.

Being a part of any team or activity- there is always a hierarchy of some sort. In terms of

orchestra, there is multiple instrument sections, the first chairs of each section, the concert

master, and the conductor, with each role having specific duties. The first chair of each section is

the one that members look up to, and if something were to go wrong they follow him/her in order

to make sure the entire team is cohesive. After that is the concert master; this man or woman is

seated closest to the conductor and is the leader of the entire orchestra. They help everyone tune

their instruments, and the first-chair members are able to look up to him/her. In addition, they

automatically get any and all of the solo parts; unless otherwise noted. Everyone in the group
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also has specific tools they have available. For example, the oboist in a full symphony orchestra

is the one that plays the tuning note that everyone bases their instruments off of. And the sheet

music is essential and necessary for the musicians. On the other hand, when musicians practice at

home, there is a multitude of devices we can use to our advantage. Other, non-tangible tools we

have at our disposal are teachers, family/friends and our ability to multitask. With instruments

like the violin, there is a lot of multitasking required. To play a song as simple as Happy

Birthday you have to think of so many things. First- counting the beat in your head. Second-

using your right hand to move the bow up and down as stated in the sheet music. Third- using

your left hand to place down your fingers in the perfect location and combination to get the

seamless intonation. And, after we play a song, videos/pictures allow us to see, watch, and listen

to how we played and we can see how we need to perfect our own sound, and then bring it

together with the group.

When I was auditioning to be a member of the Florida Young Artists Orchestra, Dr.

Alvaro Gomez, the conductor, asked me, Why do you want to be a member of this orchestra? I

was quite caught off guard, but nonetheless I answered the question and replied, I love creating

music at home, but I want to work with a team and create even bigger music to show everyone in

the community. He seemed to enjoy my answer because he smiled at his assistant, told him to

write something down and was able to let me know, immediately, that I was accepted. And that

is when I learned that the immediate objective of any orchestra or musical group is to create

music with friends and entertain the community. Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Chopin,

Tchaikovskythese legends did not create their music so it would die as time went on. They

want groups like FYAO to show it off to the community and have it be heard. And after 4 years

in the orchestra world, I was able to gain musical skills, of course, but life skills as well. I now
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know how to work well with a group, and how to listen carefully to others (musically and

literally). In addition to that, I was able to gain connections and make so many friends through

time. My conductor was able to introduce me to my current violin teacher, and encourage me to

play in my churchs orchestra, and inspire me to start teaching violin. I also was connected to

Kim Castro, who helped me find volunteering locations to fulfill my Bright Futures Scholarship

hours requirements. I was lucky enough to be able to help out behind the scenes with setting up,

cleaning-up, etc. Through these events and experiences, I was able to meet my first violin

student, Victoria, and teach her Suzuki book 1. That truly brought my musical experience full

circle.

I strongly believe that participating in orchestra was able to help me advance much

quicker than I would have without it. Being assigned challenging songs, pushed me out of my

comfort zone, and forced me to practice harder and learn skills that were a little past my level.

For example, when I reached the fourth book in my Suzuki teaching method I had learned so

many techniques, that I was ahead of my peers. And I learned all this, through the many rules we

had in orchestra. For example, keeping a steady tempo is essential especially when you have

other people depending on you or vice versa. Learning this was able to help me immensely with

my violin career has a whole. With learning the violin, my teacher used a series of books, and

each one had a theme of learning. Book 1 focused on rhythm, book 2 focused on intonation,

book 3 on shifting positions and book 4 on passion. So, when I combined my orchestra education

with the Suzuki music, I was able to master the repertoire with ease. The second most important

rule that Dr. Gomez taught us was- if you are playing out tune, just stop playing. Although

orchestras seem enormous, one slip-up can be very obvious and can ruin the atmosphere of the

piece. Third, always make sure to have a pencil, in order to mark notes, measure numbers, or
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adjust fingerings. Fourth, and depending on how strict your conductor is- we had to always make

time to arrive 15 minutes before the start of rehearsal so we would have time to set-up, warm-up

and prepare. And last but certainly not least, this rule is more so of an etiquette one learns. When

there is a concert, the 98% of the orchestra is on the stage as the curtains open. Whilst they are

seated, the concert master walks out on their own, and is greeted by the orchestra standing up

and audience applauding. Then once the concert master is seated, then comes the conductor who

is also greeted by the same standing ovation per se. These common manners are unique to

classical music performances, and are learned after experience in the community. And within

this community there is so many different people- family, friends, neighbors, etc. The

community allows us, musicians, to perform our music to anyone. And, the community helps us

run the show. Members of the community always volunteered and helped with donations,

fundraising, marketing, planning, etc. Not only that, but the community is also there to give

constructive criticism and request what they would like us to play, and them to hear.

I was a part of orchestra for quite a few years, so I was had the opportunity to experiment

with multiple instruments and sections. I was once a member of first violin, second violin, and

even concertmaster. And, in middle school I tried out the flute. With the combination of all

aspects of participating in the activity system of orchestra, I was able to learn so much, and apply

it to each and every aspect of the rest of my life. Whether it be high-school, university,

relationships, community work, or, of course, advancing in my music career, I always had my

orchestra capabilities in my pocket. There have even been times when I use orchestra skills to

help me understand topics that are completely different like chemistry or biology. When we

conducted labs in my science classes, I utilized my leadership and team-building skills to come

to a consensus on our hypothesis and give each student a role in the experiment, in order for it to
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run smoothly. And now, in the near future, I hope to audition for the UCF Symphony Orchestra,

and update my skills, as well as gain new connections, and join back in the orchestra world.

From the moment I started violin, participating orchestra was always a goal for me, so being a

member of five orchestras and hopefully six, my goal has been achieved. However, my life-long

dream is to be a member of the London Symphony Orchestra and play the music of the

Nutcracker ballet. However, I think I will start with local and then work my way up to global.