<p>"If she were to accept the position, she would become the first woman principal horn in one of the major "Big Five" orchestras in nearly six decades, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer."</p>
<p>Re: Marching Band. My S's high school has an excellent marching band, and I consider it one of the things that makes their music program great. My S marched only freshmen year, against the advice of his private teacher who was worried about his embouchure. It is definitely not the place for certain serious musicians. He did it because I pushed him to - I felt it was a huge advantage to have the ready made social set going into high school, as well as a chance to become known to the music faculty there.</p>
<p>Posters are correct to say that the overall playing quality is not as high as concert band. However, the intrinsic value of having a quality marching band is that it attracts attention to the music program from others in the community, draws kids into music who would otherwise have found it stuffy or boring, is a valuable EC offering in producing pride, dedication, belonging, and accomplishment to the participants. I am NOT one of those people who thinks that music participation should be limited to only the very talented. Marching band makes music accessible to many.</p>
<p>I did four years of marching band in HS and wouldn't trade it for anything. My HS marching band is now a paltry couple dozen kids; when I was there it was well over a hundred, and won many competitions in the area. Along with the marching band, the quality of music education in that school has decreased significantly. With emphasis on "real" academics, the music program gets dismissed as a time filler and hobby. I don't know which came first; the decrease in the marching band or the decrease in music support from the community, but I think they may be related.</p>
<p>That's interesting, Binx. Much to the chagrin of some people here, our music programs are well supported with tax payer money, and the athletic programs have user fees. Basically any kid who plays an instrument can be part of a band or orchestra, and plenty of those kids are probably "marching band level" musicians.</p>
<p>If the greater communtiy support is for athletics, rather than music, then marching band may be the one musical endeavor that is still supported? It seems that some districts and schools simply stress the importance of athletics more than music, and I have seen stronger marching band emphasis in those schools. I have no idea whether that is a national trend, but it sure seems like it when I think about the different communities in my area.</p>
<p>I was on the Juilliard website today, and saw a job opening for "Ensemble Librarian." Qualifications include a music major, preferably performance. It's a job I never thought about for musicians. It's something I think my D would be great at - except she doesn't want to major in music. But it would use her music (violin) knowledge, and her love of languages (esp. German) and libraries would be useful, too! Wonder how many jobs there are in that field.</p>
<p>The ensemble librarian is generally responsible for all the printed matter an ensemble accumulates over the years, chiefly but not exclusively including scores both published and privately held, as well as memorabilia from past performances. This mostly involves handing out printed music at the start of a concert cycle, then collecting it and either refiling it (if owned) or making sure all marks have been erased and returning it to the owner (if rented) at the end of the concert cycle. Some ensembles loan or rent printed scores to other ensembles and it would likely be the librarian's responsibility to keep track of this as well. They also have to see to the physical upkeep of the areas where materials are kept, replacement of damaged or lost parts and the proper indexing and filing of everything under their care.</p>
<p>Some ensembles are starting to go electronic with their libraries, either scanning in current holdings or obtaining new acquisitions from composers and publishers in various digital formats. In such cases, the librarian may be expected to know enough about computers to handle these responsibilities as well.</p>
<p>In many ensembles, the librarian's duties are performed by a member of the ensemble, generally for an additional stipend. Others hire a part-time or, in a few cases, a full-time professional to fill the job.</p>
<p>This is from Juillard's job listing. It includes what BassDad wrote, above, but seems a bit more involved than what the "librarians" did who were part of my S's youth orchestra.</p>
<p>Responsibilities:
Researches information regarding programming as requested and distributes instrumentation lists.
Procures all music for ensemble concerts while considering costs and maximum benefit to the institution.
Supervises professional level preparation of all large ensemble music, including marking bowings, cuts and editings as requested by the conductor.
Provides suitable materials for performance classes as requested by faculty members or Associate Dean.
Supports ensemble and conductor at rehearsals and concerts.
Supervises full-time assistant and work-study students.
Sets and enforces policies for use of resources of the ensemble library.
Administers check-out and return of woodwind/brass instrument collection.
Represents the School in The Major Orchestra Librarians Association.</p>
<p>Check out music librarian jobs online. :) For instance to work as a law librarian, you get the MLIS from an ALA accredited school plus a JD from an ABA-accredited law school, for music you can specialize in music librarianship when you get your MLIS from an ALA accredited school but a BM in music or major in music as your background is usually requested as well. A second master's degree in music is required or highly desired for some positions.</p>