Becoming an Orchestral Musician

Contents

Reviews of Becoming an Orchestral Musician:

Classical Music '...[his] practical guide invites systematic reading from cover to cover...Experienced players will nod in agreement with something on every page...newcomers will be profoundly grateful for page after page of advice just not obtainable from normal conservatoire training...the many tips on relationships with colleagues often overlooked by full-time performers...Beautifully laid out on good-quality opaque paper...Davis's book is an unbeatable-value master-class.'

Classic FM, The Magazine (Four stars): '...[his] invaluable... book. It certainly fills a gap in the market: no one previously has thought to spell out what it takes to become (and survive) as an orchestral musician. Davis, principal flute of the BBC Philharmonic and a senior lecturer at the Royal Northern College of Music, is better qualified than most to tackle the subject. He has a pragmatic, detached view of the business...This should be required reading for all music students.'

Maggie Cotton, percussionist with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for forty years 'Richard Davis's most excellent book...a gem of unvarnished, thoughtful advice...it should be required that every music teacher in the land should have a copy, digest it thoroughly and pass on the messages to their young...[it] is worth its weight in gold.'

Glasgow Herald '...it will undoubtedly prove helpful to anyone considering a career in music...for any concert goer who has ever wondered how the orchestra onstage functions...it also offers an illuminating glimpse into [its] workings and dynamics...'
Pan: 'Almost everything you've always wanted to know, but didn't dare ask, is tackled: counting, nerves, trials, politeness, high finance, Pythagorean tuning...it's all in there...I must express nothing but admiration for the genial style and content of [his] book.'

Jennifer Cluff, principal flute of Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, in reply to a college first-year student's question on her website 'What is the best advice for becoming a professional soloist or symphonic flautist...[and] on the process of auditioning/joining a symphony and/or becoming a professional soloist?' she wrote: 'See Becoming an Orchestral Musician...this is a phenomenal book! Read it cover to cover!!...[it]is the best book ever written on the subject... and I have read hundreds. I loved it and read it cover to cover in one day.

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