(can you tell school's out? I can blog all the time!)
I seem to have a bunch of church gigs this month. The first was this past weekend at the big United Methodist Church in town. They hired a pretty good sized orchestra for graduation Sunday that meant, in addition to accompanying the hymns and the choir anthems (a different one at both services), we played Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance as the recessional. I have one this week and next week at a Presbyterian Church. In the one case, I'm accompanying a handbell choir (!). Here in Lubbock (evidently the buckle of the Bible belt) one could almost make a living on church gigs, many of which pay more per service than our local symphony orchestra.*
Church gigs to me are very interesting in a number of respects. First, in many cases they're like pit work: you need to be on guard because you're accompanying singers and participating in the drama of the service. Most times, the performances are on one fairly short rehearsal. The orchestra is often front and center, in full view of the congregation, which is not unusual (musicians do that all of the time) except that for most of the service, we're just sitting there. They're early on Sunday mornings, which historically is not a good time for working musicians (typically creatures of the night).
And finally, there's the question of participation: I'm (personally) not Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Methodist--do I follow along and recite the responses and prayers with the congregation? How do I fit in with the congregation in these cases? What about shuffling music around during a prayer because I know we're playing immediately after they're finished? Is that disrespectful?
I'm curious to hear from the readership about church gigs. I think they require a very unique mindset and skill set, distinct from more "conventional" orchestra or chamber gigs.
*Last I checked, Lubbock had more churches per capita than any city in the country with a population greater than 100,000. I think the figure was one church for every 514 people, and we're a city of 200,000.
I seem to have a bunch of church gigs this month. The first was this past weekend at the big United Methodist Church in town. They hired a pretty good sized orchestra for graduation Sunday that meant, in addition to accompanying the hymns and the choir anthems (a different one at both services), we played Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance as the recessional. I have one this week and next week at a Presbyterian Church. In the one case, I'm accompanying a handbell choir (!). Here in Lubbock (evidently the buckle of the Bible belt) one could almost make a living on church gigs, many of which pay more per service than our local symphony orchestra.*
Church gigs to me are very interesting in a number of respects. First, in many cases they're like pit work: you need to be on guard because you're accompanying singers and participating in the drama of the service. Most times, the performances are on one fairly short rehearsal. The orchestra is often front and center, in full view of the congregation, which is not unusual (musicians do that all of the time) except that for most of the service, we're just sitting there. They're early on Sunday mornings, which historically is not a good time for working musicians (typically creatures of the night).
And finally, there's the question of participation: I'm (personally) not Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Methodist--do I follow along and recite the responses and prayers with the congregation? How do I fit in with the congregation in these cases? What about shuffling music around during a prayer because I know we're playing immediately after they're finished? Is that disrespectful?
I'm curious to hear from the readership about church gigs. I think they require a very unique mindset and skill set, distinct from more "conventional" orchestra or chamber gigs.
*Last I checked, Lubbock had more churches per capita than any city in the country with a population greater than 100,000. I think the figure was one church for every 514 people, and we're a city of 200,000.