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[ FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions ]
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 Who is the
Arizona Opera Orchestra?
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I thought the Phoenix Symphony played for the Arizona Opera
productions. Is this true?
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How long have the Arizona Opera Orchestra’s musicians been playing?
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What are the musicians required to do for their job?
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How do the musicians manage working in both Phoenix and Tucson?
- Is
the Arizona Opera Orchestra a full-time job?
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How much does a typical Arizona Opera Orchestra member get paid?
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How does the Arizona Opera Orchestra pay scale compare to other
similarly sized orchestras?
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What else do the Arizona Opera Orchestra musicians do to earn a
living?
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Where else do Arizona Opera Orchestra musicians perform?
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Where were the Arizona Opera Orchestra's musicians educated?
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How do the Arizona Opera Orchestra's musicians spend their free
time?
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Are the Arizona Opera Orchestra musicians dog people or cat people?
Q: Who is the Arizona Opera Orchestra?
A: The Arizona Opera Orchestra is comprised of musicians who earned
their position through a rigorous audition process. Auditions are blind,
held behind a screen to guarantee anonymity. The majority of orchestra
members reside in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, but some travel from as
far as New York, California, Kansas, New Mexico, and Vermont to be
members of this orchestra. > top of page Q:
I thought the Phoenix Symphony played
for the Arizona Opera productions. Is this true?
A: No. The Arizona Opera began in Tucson in 1971. During the tenure
of Arizona Opera's former Executive Director David Speers, the Arizona
Opera made an artistic commitment to the cultural life of Phoenix and
Tucson by establishing a dedicated orchestra for the Arizona Opera. As
with other major metropolitan areas, in both Phoenix and Tucson there
are separate and dedicated orchestras for each musical genre: symphonic
music and opera. As the fifth largest city in the country, Phoenix (as
well as Tucson) remains in the company of cities like New York, Chicago,
San Francisco, Houston and Los Angeles which all have independent,
dedicated orchestras for both opera and symphonic music. > top of page
Q: How long have the Arizona Opera Orchestra’s musicians been playing?
A: The Arizona Opera Orchestra’s musicians have been playing
their instruments for an average of 35 years, a total of more than 1500
years collectively! They have been performing as members of the Arizona
Opera Orchestra for an average of more than 10 years per musician,
collectively for more than 400 years! That’s dedication.
> top of page
Q: What are
the musicians required to do for their job?
A: Each member of the orchestra must maintain their performance
abilities through regular daily practice on their instrument. This
involves practicing technique as well as learning repertoire. Each
musician receives music 2 weeks prior to the start of rehearsals for a
production and is expected to have his or her part prepared for the
first rehearsal. Rehearsals are spent fine-tuning ensemble skills with a
conductor and working on coordination between instrumentalists and
vocalists. In addition to practice, preparation includes hours of
maintenance (cleaning, making reeds, etc) necessary for instruments to
function properly. > top of page
Q: How do the musicians manage working in both
Phoenix and Tucson?
A: A typical production for the Arizona Opera involves five days of
rehearsals and performances in Tucson and five in Phoenix. We receive a
nominal travel stipend for time spent on the road as well as per diem
for food when away from our city of residence. Our dedication to the
Arizona Opera involves many miles and a lot of time on the road.
> top of page
Q: Is
the Arizona Opera Orchestra a full-time job?
A: No. The Arizona Opera is comprised of musicians who earn a living in
various ways in addition to their work with the Arizona Opera Orchestra.
Most of the musicians perform with a multitude of musical ensembles
throughout Arizona. The Arizona Opera Orchestra’s members play regularly
with the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony and Flagstaff Symphony in
addition to virtually every regional orchestra in the state.
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Q: How
much does a typical Arizona Opera Orchestra member get paid?
A: In the 2006-2007 season, a section member of the orchestra who played
every service in the entire season earned $6,332.80. More than 25% of
the musicians were not required for all of the Arizona Opera’s
productions, so made significantly less. We are a per-service orchestra.
That is, we are paid a fee for each service (rehearsal or performance)
we play. We receive no health insurance, no pension, no unemployment,
and no instrument insurance. > top of page
Q: How does the Arizona Opera Orchestra
pay scale compare to other similarly sized orchestras?
A: Other opera orchestras pay musicians much higher wages compared to
their respective cities’ cost of living indexes for a comparable 3-hour
service. The national average for the cost of living index is 100,
figures are based on a percentage of the national average.
Company |
Service Rate |
Cost
of Living Index |
Michigan Opera |
$126.76/rehearsal*
$137.32/dress rehearsal*
$168.48/performance* |
106.6 |
Cleveland Opera |
$109.50/rehearsal*
$142/performance* |
102.7 |
Minnesota Opera |
$158/service |
102 |
Atlanta Opera |
$132/rehearsal
$152/performance |
97.2 |
Dallas Opera |
$157.35/rehearsal
$183.58/performance |
95.2 |
Arizona Opera |
$98.95/service |
98.2 |
*Cleveland and Michigan Opera services also include a 10% pension
contribution
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Q: What else do the Arizona Opera Orchestra musicians do to earn a
living?
A: In order to make a living, the Arizona Opera Orchestra’s musicians
supplement their income through a variety of means. Many of the Opera
Orchestra’s musicians teach music in addition to performing. The members
of our orchestra teach upwards of 250 private music students each week. Our musicians are on faculty at Northern Arizona University, the
University of Arizona, Kansas State University, Iowa State University,
Dartmouth, and New Mexico Highlands University. They teach at
Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella, Glendale, Phoenix, Pima, and Mesa Community
Colleges as well as in the Tempe, Tucson and Mesa Unified School
Districts. The Arizona Opera Orchestra’s musicians are educating more
than 1500 students in universities, community colleges, public and
private schools. > top of page
Q: Where else do Arizona Opera Orchestra musicians
perform?
A: The musicians of the Arizona Opera Orchestra have an impressive
resume. They have performed in more than 37 countries around the world.
They have performed with more than 80 of the best symphony orchestras in
the country, including Philadelphia, Nashville, Jacksonville, New Mexico
and Rochester. They have also performed with dozens of the highest
caliber opera and ballet orchestras as well, including the San Francisco
Opera, Philadelphia Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera
and Ballet and Santa Fe Opera, to name just a few. The Arizona Opera
Orchestra’s members have also graced the stage with icons like Barry Manilow, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Josh Groban, John
Tesh, Stevie Wonder and countless others. In addition to performing in
the pit as members of the Arizona Opera Orchestra, its musicians have
also performed in the pit for hosts of national touring broadway
productions such as The Lion King, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, The
Producers, West Side Story and even for the Radio City Rockettes.
> top of page
Q: Where were the Arizona Opera Orchestra's musicians educated?
A: The Arizona Opera Orchestra Orchestra's musicians hold degrees
from some of the finest universities and music conservatories in the
nation, including:
- Arizona State University
- University of Arizona
- Northern Arizona University
- Northwestern
- Indiana
University
- Manhattan School of Music
- Cincinnati Conservatory
- Eastman School of Music
- Oberlin Conservatory
The Arizona Opera
Orchestra is full of intelligent and talented musicians!
- 95% of the orchestra members have a college degree
- 84% of the orchestra members have more than one college degree
- 1/3 of the orchestra members have a doctoral degree
> top of page
Q: How do the Arizona Opera Orchestra's musicians spend their free
time?
A: The musicians of the Arizona Opera Orchestra spend time enjoying a
myriad of hobbies and volunteer work in addition to their musical
pursuits. The most popular hobbies among the orchestra's musicians are
hiking, cooking, reading, home improvement, traveling and gardening.
Some of the musicians also enjoy kayaking, creating stained glass,
motorcycles, jewelry making, surfing and yoga as well.
The musicians donate close to 150 hours per week to volunteer work
in school PTAs, committees and boards in organizations around the
community, church and religious activities, counseling, anti-violence
organizations, animal rescue, girl scouts, political organizations,
children's sports leagues and by offering musical instruction to
underprivileged children.
> top of page
Q: Are the Arizona Opera Orchestra musicians dog people or cat
people?
A: Cat people! Cats outnumber dogs as pets of our musicians by a tally
of 36 to 22, with 2 turtles, 2 rabbits, a bird and a bevy of fish
rounding out the collection!
*Statistics about the Arizona Opera
Orchestra are derived from a September, 2007 survey in which 46 of 48
contracted members of the Arizona Opera Orchestra provided responses.
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