That was the title we grudgingly gave to our University concert band, and though this post isn't about them, it seemed like it was appropriate. I want to take a minute to rant about community ensembles, what I like about them, and what I don't like. I think that community ensembles as a whole are really great things, and I've played in a few of varying skill and organization. There's a few trends I've noticed for things that work, and things that don't.
There's your "elite" community ensembles, which I wasn't originally going to talk about, but I just got the idea to, like, while I was typing that previous paragraph, so I will. These are the ones that, while not by audition, are meant for small cliques of usually ex-semi-pro players. Things like quartets, quintets, and to an extent, brass bands fit into this category. These are usually alright, and the quality of playing is decent, but because most members are current or former semi-pro players, egotism and overprofessionalism is much more abundant in these than in other groups. But that's not really what I want to focus on.
There's your regular community groups, those that accept everyone, that are made of a mix of young students, university students with nothing better to do, music teachers, semi-pro musicians, on-call or volunteer professionals, and the majority demographic: people with jobs outside of music, who are looking for a way to keep up or dust off the instrument of their youth. These groups can be wonderful things, but there's a few guidelines that need to be followed to keep it working properly.
First off, there's the music that you actually play. For a while, I was erroneously under the impression that community bands shouldn't play hard music, until one of my best friends verbally smacked me upside the head, and I realized the error in how I was thinking. Community groups should strive for a balance, really, of poppy tunes, and "serious" music. For example, a group that I was in recently played a mix of Leroy Anderson and associates, and rounded it off with Prokofiev. It was an excellent programme, full of variety, and something for everyone in the audience, and the ensemble.
What is more a problem is the conductor's attitude towards the ensemble, the interaction between members of the ensemble, and the ratio of demographics between the above-mentioned groups of people. Having played in three different community groups recently, I'll list off what I've noticed works, and what doesn't.
When the conductor picks music, he or she does need to balance, as I said above. He or she should recognize when a piece of music is quite challenging, and programme it with lighter things to contrast. Now, don't shy away from hard music, as there's nothing that'll make the returning casual musician happier than to be playing "real" music in a "real" ensemble, so at least one big piece per concert is encouraged. But, the conductor must realize that he is not the "boss" in an employment sense, but in more of a mentor sense, like... for some reason, the first thing that pops to mind is an AA meeting. XD That's a terrible example. But hopefully the point is kind of there...? So the conductor has to be more of a friend.
That brings me to my most important point, as I can kind of clump the last two together. There has to be a good ensemble dynamic, and everyone there should try to get along. This, I've noticed, works best among the older crowd, and those who aren't in music full time. It's those that, as I said, want to dust off or keep up their instrument that get along best with the other members of the ensemble. That crowd will ideally be the brunt of your ensemble, with a few semi-pros, pros, teachers (who I consider in a different category, not as a prejudice, but just because they have a different role in the overall musical community), and advanced students to round out the sections. This interactivity I find to be less present in largely student ensembles, as students are more likely to separate off into smaller groups of tighter-knit friends. Perhaps it's just something that happens when you get older, I wouldn't know.
The community orchestra I'm playing with now, we're doing Brahms 4 for our final concert, and it's a HUGE undertaking. There are parts of the way it's run that I'm alright with, but parts that I'm not terribly fond of. I probably won't be playing the next season, but it's the only group still running this far into summer, so I'll take what I can get.
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