This other gig is the Chelan Bach Fest, a time where there are all sorts of music-related events in Chelan, WA during the month of July. I'm involved with the festival orchestra, which rehearses in the middle of the month, and performs on the 21st. I'll be sharing 1st and 2nd horn with another horn player, so there will be some good variety. We'll be playing a few classics, including "Marche Slave", Chabrier's "Espana", a couple movements out of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade", as well as some pops stuff from musicals and other stuff. This will be my 4th time performing at the Bach Fest, so I look forward to going back.
Even though I really enjoy and am very comfortable playing section horn in an orchestra or wind band, I enjoy playing principal horn most of all. No, it's not because it makes me the boss. First of all, a lot of 1st horn parts in music are really fun. Plus, you get to play solos. And, I like the challenge of having all the pressure on you. Sure, it is fun being the leader, but I like to lead with the assistance from my section (i.e. suggestions and comments from them). As a principal player, I do my best to show in my playing how I want the section to play, rather than say how I want them to play. I also play confidently, whether I'm sure if I'm correct or not. I struggled as a principal player for a while when I was in my undergrad. I was stubborn, since I thought I was better and more intelligent than everyone (which was definitely not true). I took the pressure of being on my A-game pretty badly, and got nervous easily, over-analyzed my playing, and had tension issues. Fortunately, by my last orchestra concert in undergrad (which was a performance of Carmina Burana), I was much more comfortable in the principal horn chair, I hardly gave any instruction to my section unless I really needed to, and I played confidently & aggressively enough to have the trust of my section. At that point, a horn section sounds pretty awesome. Once I graduated, I had a couple great years leading the horn section in the Mid-Columbia Symphony. We were the tightest and strongest section in the orchestra (it's sort of like a community orchestra, but not entirely because it's audition-based and pays, although very little). I don't take all the credit for how we sounded, but I feel I did at least something. I was very fortunate to have some great players in the section. By my last concert with MCS (which, coincidentally was also a performance of Carmina Burana), we were really locked in. So, principal playing has been very rewarding for me, and I hope it continues to be in the future. It not only depends on my skills, but also the attitudes of the section players. There's nothing worse for a principal player than a section player with an ego, and vice versa.
I've been playing quite a lot of principal horn lately, so I hope to get some balance with some section horn playing...although I'm not going to complain about any principal horn opportunities that come up. Section horn playing is just so relaxing to me, but still a good challenge, because sometimes the music is tougher, and because locking into the principal player's playing style is tough work!
Come to think of it, Carmina Burana has lately been the piece that has been the feature for my last concert with orchestra groups. As mentioned above, it's true with my undergrad orchestra and MCS, but also with the Yakima Symphony. I got to play 4th horn for that concert. So, Carmina Burana has sort of a "final" feel to it. Let's see if the streak continues.
Take care and value music.