Best posts made by Dale Proctor

@BigDub
Beautiful!

Sorry to hear how they treated you. I can empathize with you, since I was moved around on trumpet seats in a local semi-professional symphony orchestra years ago to make room for someone who didn’t really want to be there. I had to re-audition for my seat (3rd trumpet), which had never happened to anyone, and “lost” to the reluctant player, who was a jazz player. There were 3 judges at the audition, and two told me privately they had voted for me. So, I became 4th trumpet and rarely got to play.

The few union members of the orchestra, one of which was my replacement, went on strike for more money, and I was notified I’d be playing 3rd part in the next concert. With the assurance I would play the concert even if the strike was settled beforehand, I played all the rehearsals. The strike was settled about a week before the concert and guess what…I was replaced with the striker.

Summer came and as was the norm, I was contacted by the symphony manager, along with everyone else, to confirm we would be back for the next season, and I affirmed I would. The next season rolled around and I wasn’t notified I’d be playing the first concert, so as usual, there was no 4th part. I ran into the 1st trumpet at a restaurant a month or two later and he asked why I didn’t play the concert. It seems they played a piece that also required off stage trumpets, and local high school kids were hired to play those parts.

The symphony personnel manager received my scathing resignation letter a few days later, and I’m sorry I stuck around as long as I did.