<p>my school has a horrible orchestra, partially because i know most of the people just play to please their parents/get rid of our school's visual and performing arts requirement and as a result, we don't sound really good.
i am the principal cello (i have been the first chair since freshman year, when i joined) in my school orchestra but i honestly do not think it is worth my time as we play really basic stuff. </p>
<p>i was thinking i could quit orchestra next year but my friends pointed out i would lose two things:</p>
<p>leadership (i guess section leader counts as leadership) and
participation/taking advantage of school opportunities.</p>
<p>school orchestra is the only thing i do, and if i quit, my friends say it will hurt me when i apply to college. they said my guidance counselor fills out a form commenting whether i take advantage of what the school offers, and if i quit, my counselor will say i have not taken advantage of anything. in addition i will not have any leadership to 'brag' about, but i really don't think my position has any worth. my parents refuse to let me quit for that reason as well.</p>
<p>however, i feel like this school orchestra is a waste of time. it is impeding my progress when i could be practicing my own pieces. in my section, everyone is around suzuki cello book 1-5 (it really varies) and so they cannot play the harder pieces. (side note: i am working on the moses variation- paganini). </p>
<p>if you have any advice regarding this thank you :)</p>
<p>It depends on what you are planning to do after high school. If you’re planning to go to a conservatory, the orchestra is likely a waste of time. If you’re looking to apply to competitive colleges or universities, you may need the EC. Do you have other activities outside of high school?</p>
<p>What year are you? Especially you are a junior, I’d stick it out for the one more year, especially if it is your only activity and your only leadership activity. Not everything you do in life will be exhilarating and challenging. Maybe also see if there are any other playing opportunities in your area (ex. a local orchestra, a music school orchestra etc.) or if you can teach some young students etc to find additional outlets for your cello playing.</p>
<p>Audition for the regional/city orchestra. Your GC can proudly point out how the school matured you until you outgrew it, and did its job, and now you are an example to other students to reach beyond the school walls into the community.</p>
<p>Your job is to excel and take advantage of everything around you. The school’s job is to observe and help you to be the best possible version of yourself. Don’t try to please others. Do try to get outside validation from the highest possible source (regional orchestra?) while you are in “application” mode.</p>
<p>I understand that feeling like the school orchestra is “bad” and not feeling challenged are reasons to want to quit. But your friends have a good point, and yes, section leader does count as a leadership position. </p>
<p>But as for the thing about your counselor recommendation, that’s not necessarily the case. It could also refer to a student who gets a 4.0 GPA while only taking regular classes when the school offers many APs/Honors courses. By your friend’s logic (or your logic), someone who isn’t into music or arts is in huge trouble. That’s not the case AT ALL; at my school, many kids take their one required year of fine arts and then quit the following year. Sometimes people realize that music isn’t their thing or things change in high school. Many of those kids pursue other academic electives that they are interested in, and that’s perfectly fine. Remember, you have other options!</p>
<p>Is there a way for you to continue cello outside of school (like private lessons)? You can still put it on your resume, even if you aren’t in the school orchestra.</p>
<p>You may want to consider speaking to your counselor about this, too. They can help you :)</p>
<p>Wow guys, thanks for the fast responses!
@glassharmonica I am not going into conservatory as much as I would like to haha. No school orchestra is my sole EC in school. I am in a piano trio outside of school, though. And I’ve done other clubs like Robotics and Science Olympiad in 9/10th grades but I’m just not interested anymore.</p>
<p>I feel the same way about my orchestra (I play cello too!). We have many talented players, but no one likes the director because he is rude. I advise sticking with it if you can, because you will have more leadership and it will show that you are dedicated. Plus, you might be able to play in orchestra in college because it will probably be a better experience, if you are still interested in the instrument, of course. Some colleges give scholarships for a few thousand dollars for talent as long as you agree to participate in a music program in college (like orchestra, performances, etc.) And it will be a good exercise in patience!</p>
<p>Have you thought of scheduling cello sectionals to improve your section’s cello playing? or becoming a peer tutor? My son is a peer tutor and is in charge of 15 cellists and assists the orchestra director. It has been an eye opener for him and he has discovered that learning/improving on the cello is 95% motivation and the rest is talent. He now has a new appreciation for his cello teacher and orchestra director and his experience has been used for some of his essays.</p>
<p>You didn’t answer the suggestion that you look for outside community orchestras or some other place to play. If you can do that, I’d ditch the school orchestra in a minute. Make sure the GC knows if you have an outside orchestra you are playing in. Whether an EC is through the school or not doesn’t really mean anything as long as you are active and interested in it.</p>
<p>@intparent Yeah I kind of wish I had looked into that…I am planning to audition next year for a couple youth orchestras. </p>
<p>@cellomom6 yes i have scheduled cello sectionals before to help my section members. however, no one really shows up, sometimes 1 or 2 people, and when i tell them what to fix, it never gets fixed. you can say i’ve been discouraged for around 3 years now because no one wants to improve. orchestra is generally treated as an easy a, no effort class at my school. it kind of makes me depressed because no one wants to sound good haha</p>
<p>Consider starting a club in school or a group of other serious musicians to perform at gigs around town. I dropped out of my school band for similar reasons and I don’t think it effects my app too much because I’m also in an orchestra outside school.</p>
<p>It also depends what type of schools you hope to get into.
However, you can’t drop school orchestra before you’ve found another orchestra in which to play.
In addition, find another club at school and look for someone who could replace you as section leader.
Leaving the school orchestra to join an adult orchestra or the regional youth orchestra is good. Leaving the school orchestra and doing nothing will be a VERY big problem, especially since you leave during the year and thus go back on your commitment and leave the section without a section leader.
I feel for you since you’re so far ahead from the others - but what about creating a quarted at your school, or a chamber orchestra?
If you’re hoping to apply to selective colleges, understand that they’ll also judge your ability to restructure time from unchallenging to opportunity - ie., since your cellists don’t play well, you’re not supposed to quit, you’re supposed to figure something out - what doesn’t matter, what matters is that you find something to do that tries to solve the problem. So, your problem is: how can you help them get better? Can you talk with the teacher to see what incentives could be given, for instance if the term grade is tied to coming to sectionals and no grade higher than B (or B+) is given if one doesn’t show? If you want to play higher-level pieces, can you create an ensemble where you and a handful of other high achieving musicians can participate? etc.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I know the rest of the orchestra pretty well and I will go as far as to say that there are only two people at my school who are serious about music- me and this violinist. I’ve asked her about doing independent music work but she is too busy with speech and student govt. I tried starting a club but there was little interest so I’m not going to try again. In general my school does not emphasize performing arts. We are very academic minded.</p>
<p>I have a new group of cellists this year to work with. Technically orchestra at my school doesn’t start till December, so I hope this year it will be better. Last year there were a lot of seniors and I have no idea why they didn’t show up to sectionals…I’m also planning to offer individual help this year. </p>
<p>I did not think of offering incentives, thanks for that idea! </p>
<p>I am in a trio outside of school and we are playing the Smetana trio, but no idea on if we will play for people in nursing homes,etc but it seems fun. (I’m in this chamber music program where I change members every year, unless I request not to)</p>
you can say i’ve been discouraged for around 3 years now because no one wants to improve. orchestra is generally treated as an easy a, no effort class at my school. it kind of makes me depressed because no one wants to sound good haha</p>
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