Interview: Woodwind road warrior Terry Halvorson

ByBret Pimentel
Terry Halvorson

I’m always pleased to hear from other woodwind players. Terry Halvorson has been a contributor to my Broadway woodwind doubling list for several years, we’ve communicated periodically online, and we even bumped into each other in person at an IDRS conference a few years back. Terry has been working as a musician with touring musical theater productions for a while now, and I  was curious about life on the road. He was kind enough to take some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions.

BP: What do you do for a living?

TH: I am a woodwind doubler (oboe/English horn, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, recorders, whistles). I am currently 44 years old and have been performing musical theater since I was 14. I have been playing the Reed 2 book (oboe and English horn) with the national tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast since February 2010 and will be continuing, switching to the Reed 3 book (clarinet, bass clarinet, 2nd flute) from late September through May 2013.

How did you get the job?

I was called back in late 2005 by a musical director friend to play a reed book on the tour of Will Rogers Follies, but I had commitments at the time that I couldn’t get out of, so I had to turn it down. However the reed player who was hired gave notice four months into the eight-month contract and I was able to join the tour in the middle, replacing him (my first experience seeing a high D on flute!). Toward the end of this tour, we were in the New York City area when NETworks Presentations (my current company) was holding musician auditions, and I was able to attend; I received a call five weeks later asking me if I would like to play with the national tour of The Producers, and here I still am!

What background (education, other experience, etc.) do you have that prepared you for this job?

Wow, loaded question… well, I have been a major woodwind geek since high school (I arranged my favorite band piece for mixed clarinet sextet when I was 14 years old, and we won a command performance at our regional solo and ensemble festival); I also played oboe, clarinet and bassoon in my local youth symphony in various years. I was, of course, a music major (oboe and clarinet) in college as well, beginning as an education major but switching to performance. I freelanced a LOT, playing mostly reed books 2 and 3.

What’s the best part of the job? What’s the worst part?

Best parts are having a steady paycheck as a performing musician (how many people can say that?) and of course seeing and experiencing all the different places we play; I have played all fifty states and most Canadian provinces. The worst part is probably the lack of freedom to come and go and the strict adherence to a schedule.

What’s it like being on the road?

How much space do we have? Haha! Life on the road has its ups and downs; I like to refer to it as living in a bubble, slightly outside of reality. Facebook and smartphones help a lot to keep in touch with family and friends. The average age of a non-equity cast tends to be around 23, and there are usually cliques that happen, sometimes a bit high school like, other times just small groups with similar interests who hang around together a lot. The pit and the crew tend to average slightly older than the cast, maybe around 30-35 years old? On a personal note, I take meds for bipolar and ADHD and was recently diagnosed with HFA (high functioning autism), so I tend to be somewhat awkward in certain social situations, so the road life can be a bit more difficult for me at times, but I have been managing for six and a half years so far.

Does “non-equity” mean non-union?

Yes, but equity is the actors’ union; so a non-equity tour is lower-level, typical doesn’t play a lot of A-list cities, and doesn’t stay long. You also get paid less and have to share hotel rooms, etc.

How is touring different from playing local gigs?

Well for one, I don’t have to work at a restaurant and take the weekends off, losing $120 a night to drive 60 miles round-trip to a $70 gig. But it also stinks sometimes when you’re off for a day or two around Christmas, New Year’s or Easter, but can’t take those great gigs back at home.

Is there a pecking order on the tour, and where does the orchestra fit in? Do the musicians pretty much hang together, or are there typically friendships with the cast, crew, and other tour personnel?

The crew travel separately and don’t hang with the rest of the company all that often (though some do); the cast and orchestra also tend to hang within their respective groups, but but intermingling also happens, especially for birthdays and such.

What’s a typical day like?

Depends on the day; if we’re on a week sit-down, Monday is usually traveling, Tuesday we have company meeting 2 hours and 15 minutes before the show and sound check 2 hours before; the rest of the week is free except for shows. Sometimes the cast will have understudy rehearsals, but we don’t play for those. If we have multiple cities in a week, we usually travel by bus and leave in time to get us to the hotel around 1½-2 hours before company meeting; depending on the length of the travel, we have to stop for a 20-minute restroom break every two hours and have an hour lunch.

What’s your schedule like over the course of a year? Vacations? Holidays?

The schedules (itineraries/routes) vary a lot from show to show, but non-equity tour schedules are generally kind of like the school year: mid-September to late May or early June. Sometimes we have Christmas week off, or at least a day or two. There are no vacations other than layoffs where there are simply no shows scheduled; for most of these we are flown home with no pay (but we can file for unemployment).

Do you get tired of playing the same show over and over? How do you cope? How do you stay “sharp?”

That’s tough; I played The Producers 489 times and have played Beauty and the Beast so far around 680; luckily both of those shows were well written and orchestrated, and are fun to play. I admit that in some tutti sections, my mind will wander a little; sometimes I’ll look around the audience or the theater, other times I’m thinking of what’s going on after the show or my finances. But I always have at least 95% of myself engaged.

What happens if you or one of your orchestra colleagues gets sick or otherwise can’t go on?

Most of the time we simply have to make it work. I actually had to leave in the middle of a show once because I was violently ill; I also had a terrible bout of bronchitis a couple of years ago and we managed to find a local sub who audited and took over for a couple of shows while I went to the hospital; but for the most part, unless it’s serious, we have to play.

Do you find time and space to practice on the road? What are you currently working on?

I am the bad musician who doesn’t practice much on the road (shoot me!). I am planning on changing this, especially since I will be subbing on the Reed 1 books of Aladdin and Hairspray this summer (right after we get home from tour, actually), as well as switching books on the next leg of tour after playing my current book for two and a half years; this will be a nice change up, but I’m a little bummed as it comes just as I’m receiving my new oboe.

How do you deal with reeds on the road? Do you make your own? Do you notice a lot of change in your reeds from location to location?

I, unfortunately, was not blessed with the skills of a fine carpenter that oboists are supposed to have. I have a reedmaker in southern California who sends me small batches of reeds about once a month, and I keep most them, pulling out different ones for different altitudes, climates, temperatures, etc. It generally works. For my single reeds I have been playing on Légères since they first came out, and they are getting better and better all the time. No one has ever noticed, other than the players sitting next to me who can see them.

What advice do you have for musicians who might like to do this job?

See a therapist quickly! Just kidding. The truth of the matter is that the newer shows are being written for smaller and smaller orchestras and some companies are using virtual orchestra machines (bleh!), but be persistent; try to send your resume and .MP3s of your playing to musical director friends and other friends who play your instrument and are doing what you’d like to do; also try to get a hold of reed players in New York City, Los Angeles, and touring shows, and ask if you might sit in the pit.

Do have any favorite doubling tips (or general woodwind-playing tips)?

Hmm… for oboe, generally dip the reeds then lay them out; only leave them in the water if you are in an extremely dry climate like Utah or Arizona. Take the double reeds off the instruments and resoak them whenever you can so they stay wet, and also swab out at regular intervals (I have my swabbing practically choreographed). As for flute, the vibration from playing any reed instrument before playing flute tends to slightly “numb” the center of the lip, thus messing with the correct flute embouchure, so practice going from sax or clarinet to flute a LOT; I try to buzz my lips a bit (turning away from the mic) between these changes, if possible.

Do you have have any career tips that aren’t specifically about woodwind playing?

Be friendly and go with the flow… life on the road can be challenging, but it’s easier when you have friends around you, and often times you will make friends for life from your tours.

What instruments are in your arsenal?

I play:

  • Buffet Festival Greenline B-flat clarinet (Fobes and Grabner mpcs, Backun barrel and bell)
  • older LeBlanc E-flat and A clarinets
  • older Rigoutat Symphonie model oboe
  • 1927 Loree English horn
  • Tom Hiniker cocobolo oboe (arriving any day now!)
  • Muramatsu DS model flute (standard and Straubinger headjoints)
  • Woodwind model grenadilla piccolo with synthetic headjoint by Eldred Spell
  • Pearl silver-plated alto flute (curved & straight headjoints)
  • Cannonball curved soprano sax
  • old 1940’s Conn straight silver soprano sax
  • old Buescher alto sax
  • Yamaha 62 tenor sax (rubber and metal Otto Link mouthpieces refaced by John Reilly)
  • several nice wooden recorders (garklein, sopranino, soprano, alto, and tenor)
  • Susato chromatic set of pennywhistles (low D to high G)

To hear Terry play, check the Beauty and the Beast tour schedule and buy tickets for a show near you. Thanks, Terry!

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  • Interview: Stefanie Harger Gardner, clarinetist and #clarequality activist

    ByBret Pimentel

    Dr. Stefanie Harger Gardner teaches clarinet, chamber music, and music theory at Glendale Community College and Ottawa University. Previously she served on the faculty at Northern Arizona University. Gardner has performed with Arizona Opera, the Phoenix Symphony, Red Rocks Chamber Music Festival, Seventh Roadrunner, the Paradise Winds, and the Égide Duo, whose mission is to commission, record, and perform music inspiring social change. During her time as chair of the International Clarinet Association New Music Committee, Stefanie founded and organized the biennial ICA Low Clarinet Festival and the annual ICA New Music Weekend. She has performed in concert with PitBull, Ceelo, Tony Orlando, Reba McEntire, Michael Bolton, David and Katherine McPhee Foster, Jordin Sparks, Weird Al Yankovic, Hanson, and The Who. Her chamber music albums are recorded on the Soundset label and can be heard on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. In 2012, Gardner won first prize at the International Clarinet Association Research Competition with her study, “An Investigation of Finger Motion and Hand Posture during Clarinet Performance.” Gardner received Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Clarinet Performance from Arizona State University, studying with Robert Spring.

    Here’s my interview with Stefanie:

    BP: What is #womenplayclarinettoo?

    SHG: I’m lucky to have a strong network of women all over the world speaking up about female representation in the clarinet community: Sarah Watts, Julia Heinen, Carrie RavenStem, Dawn Lindblade-Evans, Lara Diaz, Marta Kania, Fie Schouten, Kristine Dizon, Larkin Sanders, and many others. We use this hashtag to promote clarinet events embracing equality and to call out events lacking in representation of women and other marginalized populations. We are actively working together to ensure the future of clarinet is welcoming of all underrepresented populations (races and ethnicities, gender diversity, sexual orientations, and those with disabilities). In short, we are a coalition of worldwide clarinetists using our voices to demand change. 

    Why did you start #womenplayclarinettoo? 

    The hashtags #womenplayclarinettoo and #clarequality grew out of frustrations that women and other marginalized groups have been excluded in recent clarinet events. In just April and May of 2023, there were at least 24 international festivals with male-only faculty, jurors, or guest artists. 

    We publicly asked the organizers and panels of these events on social media “Where are the women?” Many organizers did not reply, deleted our comments, emailed us or privately messaged us threats, or, even worse, said that they only hired the best faculty and artists (implying that women can’t play or teach as well as men). We have asked sponsors to think carefully about supporting these events, and how that reflects on their company and their consumers. 

    What are the goals of #womenplayclarinettoo and #clarequality?

    We believe that our clarinet community is made stronger by the diversity within it. Events within our community should represent our diverse makeup and be accessible to all. We are inviting all clarinetists to join us by taking this pledge:

    “I am an ally and advocate for equality and diversity in the worldwide clarinet community. I will inquire about, support and insist on increased visibility and opportunity for underrepresented populations; races and ethnicities, gender diversity, sexual orientations, and those with disabilities in events and programs that I take part in.”

    Clarinetists and sponsors can sign the pledge at clarequality.com and have their name listed on the website as allies for equality. There are “next steps” to becoming an ally listed on the website as well. 

    What are some of the ways gender inequities are manifested in the world of clarinet playing?

    Many women in the international clarinet community have come forward with personal stories of inequity, harassment, and even sexual abuse by male colleagues and teachers.

    The #womenplayclarinettoo movement has met resistance from some men in the clarinet community. Some have told us to “be more ladylike,” “stop shouting,” or “plan your own events” (excuse me, but we do!), or warned us we are “burning bridges.” Others have threatened lawsuits and changed our slogan to “B****es play clarinet, too!”

    Asking nicely or ignoring the issue has not brought change. With our campaign, we are finally getting festival organizers and sponsors to think carefully about their rosters and programming, and getting allies to spread the word and speak up for us too.

    What experiences have you had with gender inequity as a female-identifying clarinetist? 

    In addition to never having a female teacher or role model, I am often the only woman in the clarinet section. It is rare for me to play with another professional female-identifying clarinetist in orchestras and other gigs. I’ve been attending ICA festivals for decades now, and it has only been in the past 5 years or so that we have had women headliners at the night concerts. I can recall past years like 2016 when there were zero women soloists at the coveted night concerts.

    I want my diverse clarinet studio (primarily female, Hispanic, and LGBTQIA+) to see themselves in the performers they admire and want to study with. I don’t want my students to feel like they don’t belong in the clarinet community because they don’t look the same as the teachers or artists in the poster, or that they can’t be professional clarinet players too.

    When with my spouse, Joshua Gardner (another professional clarinetist) at music festivals, I am often introduced as “Josh’s wife” and rarely introduced as another clarinet player or even by my name. (To be clear, Josh never introduces me this way, but other males in the clarinet community often do.) 

    The low clarinet community used to be very male dominated, but in recent years has been a very accepting community of all marginalized players with the work of Sarah Watts, Jon Russell, and the very first ICA Low Clarinet Festival. 50.6% women low clarinet artists performed at the festival last January.

    Has there also been positive response to #womenplayclarinettoo and #clarequality?

    The ICA has taken notice of the #womenplayclarinettoo and #clarequality movement. Many of the board members use profile picture frames, created by Carrie RavenStern, for their social media accounts. They also worked with us to create a powerful diversity statement to remind the international clarinet community that we are an inclusive community.

    Where can people find you on the internet?

    Where can people find #clarequality and #womenplayclarinettoo on the internet?

  • Death from exposure

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    Teaching multiple instruments: IDRS 2016 presentation

    ByBret Pimentel

    Lecture notes from a presentation on teaching multiple instruments, especially double reeds in a higher education setting, from the 2016 International Double Reed Society conference.

    Downloadable version

    Teaching Multiple Instruments

    Dr. Bret Pimentel, Delta State University

    IDRS Conference 2016, Columbus, Georgia

    More and more university music teaching positions require wearing several hats, sometimes including teaching multiple instruments. (Oboe plus bassoon is an especially common combination, even though it’s unusual for musicians to play both well.) Teaching multiple instruments is also a potentially valuable skill for instructors at lesson studios in private music schools or in music stores, for instructors in middle or high school band and orchestra programs, and for those establishing private studios from their homes.

    Getting hired

    • In many multiple-instrument hiring situations, the expectation is proficiency on one instrument and willingness to fake your way teaching the other(s). Any actual training or background on secondary instruments immediately sets you apart. Strongly consider taking at least a few lessons on a secondary instrument—this shows seriousness about the multiple-instrument thing, even if it doesn’t make you a virtuoso.
    • Having access to books (or websites) isn’t a substitute. Neither is “knowing a guy” who you can “ask questions.” Though those are usable resources, they aren’t convincing to hiring committees because they don’t demonstrate any actual effort prior to submitting your application.
    • Be honest but positive with yourself and with hiring committees about your ability and/or enthusiasm for teaching multiple instruments. For example:
      • “I play oboe professionally, but I am deeply committed to both instruments and am working to improve my bassoon skills. I have some experience playing bassoon in semi-professional settings.”
      • “Bassoon is really my thing, but I took oboe lessons for a couple of summers during graduate school and am enthusiastic about teaching the double reeds.”
      • “Teaching bassoon would be a brand new challenge for me, and one that I would take seriously.”

    Lesson time

    • You won’t have to fix all of your students’ technical issues on day one, but you will have to assign repertoire and studies right away. Spend some serious time browsing other teachers’ syllabi and “suggested repertoire” lists (many are available online!), and start compiling some lists of your own. Are you ready to recommend, for example:
      • some remedial etudes and an easy solo for an incoming freshman?
      • an hour’s worth of varied and challenging-but-doable repertoire for a junior entering a competition?
      • a solid program for a senior recital that can double as serious graduate school audition repertoire?
      • Baroque pieces?
      • pieces with extended techniques?
      • chamber pieces with strings?
      • concerti with concert band?
      • and so on…
    • You will, of course, have to address technical issues at some point. Be advised that your students know when you’re making things up. But it can be a great experience to spend a few minutes researching a question together, or calling a colleague or mentor on speakerphone for advice.
    • Both you and the student can learn a lot when you dare to get an instrument out and try some things together. Your students know it’s not your main instrument, and appreciate seeing you step out of your comfort zone. Consider giving them a chance to teach you something—teaching is a skill they should be learning anyway.

    Managing resources

    • Institutional resources like money, time, and space are often allocated per faculty member, not per instrument taught. As appropriate, consider making a case for the following (for example):
      • Funding for your oboe studio plus funding for your bassoon studio. Per-faculty funding can be unfair to students, who won’t benefit from purchases made for the other studio.
      • Additional prep time built into your schedule to accommodate the logistics of multiple studios.
      • Studio space and storage space suitable for several studios’ worth of instruments, sheet music, reed desks, etc.
    • If you are a single-instrumentalist teaching multiple instruments, consider forming partnerships with others in the same situation. Visit each other’s schools once or twice a year, maybe more often if the travel is short. Be each other’s consultants, guest artists, masterclass teachers, reed sources.
    • Consider which aspects of running a studio you can streamline to accommodate multiple instruments without multiplying your workload. For example:
      • Use your university’s LMS features, perhaps to combine all of your applied students into one “course,” instead of having to communicate separately to each instrument group.
      • If permissible and appropriate, rotate or combine things like studio classes and chamber group coachings.
      • Repurpose, say, oboe sight-reading excerpts as saxophone excerpts, or vice-versa. (Doesn’t work as well between oboe and bassoon. Clefs, you know.)

    Staying sharp (figuratively)

    • Join an organization. Attend conferences. Read the journal. Summer camps (that welcome or at least tolerate adults) are great, too.
      • For oboe-plus-bassoon teachers, IDRS is perfect! Be sure to attend recitals and masterclasses for your secondary teaching instrument, and familiarize yourself with equipment and repertoire options in the vendor exhibits.
    • Build your library of recordings, pedagogical materials, and experiences related to your secondary teaching instrument(s). If it suits your goals, budget toward buying or upgrading your secondary instruments and investing in your further education.
    • Be smart, informed, and conscientious about learning what pedagogical techniques, ideas, etc. you can share between instruments and what you can’t.
    • If you are at even an intermediate performing level on a secondary instrument, strongly consider playing it on your faculty recitals (one short, easy piece?). Keep yourself challenged to improve.
    • Shameless plug: Keep an eye on bretpimentel.com for blog posts and other resources related to playing and teaching multiple woodwind instruments, and the fundamental techniques that those instruments share.

    Long-term career planning

    • Is teaching multiple instruments an end goal for you, or just a way to get that first teaching job that will be a stepping stone to something that fits you better? Hint: either is okay, and it’s also okay to change your mind.
    • If you need to meet certain expectations for tenure, annual reviews, etc., be smart about how your multiple-instrument duties affect this. For example:
      • If leadership in professional organizations is important, you may need to attend your major instrument’s conference every year, instead of bouncing from conference to conference.
      • Understand student recruitment expectations—will you need to keep your studios balanced in a certain way, or is it acceptable if, say, recruiting for your main instrument is more successful?

  • Students and gig pay

    ByBret Pimentel

    Over a year ago I wrote about responding to free or underpaid gig “offers.” A commenter asked a fair question, which has haunted me since:

    I was wondering how much of this still applies when taking on gigs as a student.

    I’ve wrestled with this a bit and I’m not sure I have a real answer, but I do have some thoughts. (As usual, I’m talking here about markets that don’t benefit from a strong union presence, such as most of the USA.)

    For someone hiring musicians for a gig, I don’t see a good reason to consider student status at all. You should hire musicians who can do the job, and should pay them fairly. If they are students, what does that have to do with anything?

    photo, Ryan Hyde

    But the Right Thing to Do seems a little less clear from the student perspective. In a situation where someone is attempting to treat student musicians (or anyone) in an exploitative way, the options are to accept, to attempt to negotiate better terms, or to refuse the gig. The problem is that freelance careers depend heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations, and being “easy to work with” is a prized quality. A student musician trying to get a foothold in the business could hurt his or her cause by complaining about unfair pay, or by staying home instead of playing.

    Student musicians have to find the best balance they can between advocating for fair treatment and going with the flow. It’s not reasonable for the least-experienced musicians to have to navigate such a complicated thing with their careers hanging in the balance, but it’s the way things are.

    Here are some questions you might ask yourself if you’re a student musician and think you’re being undervalued in the professional freelance marketplace:

    • Who else is on the gig? Would this be a genuine opportunity to make some connections and let some other musicians hear what you can do? Are those musicians the kind who might be able to offer you future opportunities in the near term, or are they others who don’t have much of a career yet?
    • Do you have peers who have taken this gig in the past? Did it pay off in terms of “exposure” or future gigs?
    • Is the experience something that would look good on your word-of-mouth “résumé,” or would it be kind of an embarrassment?
    • Do you have a trusted friend or mentor who is more established in the business, who can advise you on this specific situation? The music world is a small one, and someone who knows the local freelance scene might be able to offer some background.

    Be careful of talking yourself into free or below-market gigs because you “just want to play.” That kind of attitude serves you well in school, but not so well when you’re trying to make a living, and it drags down other musicians’ ability to make fair money and pay their bills.

    A parting thought: I certainly did some free and underpaid gigs as a student, and in some cases that may have opened doors to better opportunities. (It’s hard to connect the dots definitively.) But I think those of us who are established as freelancers should be careful about treating unfairness as a “paying dues” rite of passage. Shouldn’t we be using our success to make things better for the next generation of musicians?

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    Persistence

    ByBret Pimentel

    A famous big-shot clarinet professor told me once that I would never really be a clarinetist.

    He was quite possibly correct.

    But for now I’m still at it.

3 Comments

  3. This was really cool to see a glimpse into this career. My sister plays the clarinet, and I think she would love to have a career like this. I can’t imagine playing the same music 680 times! I think I would need more change than that to keep me interested. Thanks for sharing your experience!

    Reply

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