{"id":841,"date":"2008-03-10T16:18:22","date_gmt":"2008-03-11T00:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/03\/10\/the-really-bad-orchestra\/"},"modified":"2013-02-07T18:46:46","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T02:46:46","slug":"when-terrible-is-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/03\/10\/when-terrible-is-good\/","title":{"rendered":"when terrible is good"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night our bass trombonist, Charley Reneau, told me about an op-ed piece in the New York Times that was about “this really bad orchestra”. So, today I checked it out. Turns out it was the “Really Terrible Orchestra<\/a>“! Here’s the first paragraph or so of the complete op-ed<\/a>:<\/p>\n

WHY should real musicians \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the ones who can actually play their instruments \u00e2\u20ac\u201d have all the fun?<\/p>\n

Some years ago, a group of frustrated people in Scotland decided that the pleasure of playing in an orchestra should not be limited to those who are good enough to do so, but should be available to the rankest of amateurs. So we founded the Really Terrible Orchestra, an inclusive orchestra for those who really want to play, but who cannot do so very well. Or cannot do so at all, in some cases.<\/p>\n

My own playing set the standard. I play the bassoon, even if not quite the whole bassoon. I have never quite mastered C-sharp, and I am weak on the notes above the high D. In general, I leave these out if they crop up, and I find that the effect is not unpleasant. I am not entirely untutored, of course, having had a course of lessons in the instrument from a music student who looked quietly appalled while I played. Most of the players in the orchestra are rather like this; they have learned their instruments at some point in their lives, but have not learned them very well. Now such people have their second chance with the Really Terrible Orchestra.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think that this sort of thing is amazing, wonderful, and entirely to be encouraged. There really are way too many professional musicians and amateurs who are neurotic about their performances to a fault and take themselves entirely too seriously. On the other hand, it’s a rare thing to find a top-rank professional or amateur who is willing the just do it purely for the love of it, and not take the whole thing too far. That’s why this is so refreshing to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night our bass trombonist, Charley Reneau, told me about an op-ed piece in the New York Times that was about “this really bad orchestra”. So, today I checked it out. Turns out it was the “Really Terrible Orchestra“! Here’s the first paragraph or so of the complete op-ed:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[148,115,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-music","category-the-orchestra-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-dz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":631,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/01\/02\/a-terrible-loss\/","url_meta":{"origin":841,"position":0},"title":"a terrible loss","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I encountered Jerome on a tour with the Super World Orchestra in 2000. He was an amazing horn player - I'll remember his solos from Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story for a long time. From Peter Dobrin, classical music critic, Philadelphia Inquirer: Jerome Ashby, 1956-2007 By Peter Dobrin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "music"","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ashby_jerome_CL_0607.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.phillynews.com\/inquirer\/ArtsWatch\/ashby_jerome_CL_0607.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2461,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/02\/great-recording-debut\/","url_meta":{"origin":841,"position":1},"title":"great recording debut","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The senza conductor chamber orchestra A Far Cry, based out of Boston, has released their first recording, entitled A Far Cry: Debut. You can preview tracks and purchase downloads (320kbs mp3 files) from their page at InstantEncore.com. Here's the program of the album: Osvaldo Golijov - Last Round for string\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"debut","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/debut.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":471,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/10\/07\/responses-to-tragedy\/","url_meta":{"origin":841,"position":2},"title":"responses to tragedy","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I was reading this article in today's Sunday New York Times, about the New York Philharmonic's music director designate Alan Gilbert, when I was struck by the first paragraph, which describes how an orchestra he was guest conducting responded to the death of a colleague: ALAN GILBERT stood before the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4987,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/11\/no-more-live-music-on-broadway\/","url_meta":{"origin":841,"position":3},"title":"no more live music on broadway?","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This op-ed from the New York Times has been going around the internet the last couple days.\u00a0 It concerns the use of a synthesizer in place of half of the strings in the pit orchestra in the Broadway revival of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story: Now, after 500 performances, our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "administration"","block_context":{"text":"administration","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/administration-the-orchestra-world-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/mpawestsidestoryposter-259x400.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":396,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/07\/24\/not-much-going-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":841,"position":4},"title":"not much going on","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a pretty low-key couple of days.\u00c2\u00a0 I'm anticipating a burst of posts on some Portland classical music scene issues shortly.\u00c2\u00a0 For now, here's what's playing on my iPod today: Bart\u00c3\u00b2k - Concerto for Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustvo Dudamel, cond. DG Concerts (iTunes store exclusive download) Barber -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2006\/07\/23\/interpretive-dilemma\/","url_meta":{"origin":841,"position":5},"title":"interpretive dilemma…","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm in the late stages of learning the Martinu Rhapsody-Concerto for a performance at the Sunriver Music Festival (on the east slopes of the Central Oregon Cascades) in Sunriver, Oregon. I very much love the sound world of the piece, it's much like if Aaron Copland were Czech! There is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}