by Hannah Culbreth
If you have ever been paid to play the horn, you are the beneficiary of someone’s philanthropy and generosity. There is an entire world behind your paycheck! If you’d like to know what it’s like to be a part of that world, keep reading.
I spent the two years right after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music playing full-time in orchestras. My first season (22-23), I played 3rd horn in the Atlanta Symphony. The following season (23-24), I played 2nd horn in the Phoenix Symphony. Both of these experiences taught me so much, and I met many incredible and warm people along the way. Throughout my life and career, I have always had the inner longing to be more involved with my communities. I enjoyed putting together my own projects, teaching, and volunteering both while in school and in professional orchestras, but I still felt like I needed to contribute to the longevity of orchestras in a closer way. I believe that I’ve found the perfect fit for me in the development field.
The biggest piece of work in development is relationship-building. We put incredible importance on fostering relationships with our donors and community members in order to ensure long-term financial stability for our organization. Through developing these relationships, we can understand both why the symphony has a positive impact in our community and how to make sure it grows and thrives. The technical side of the job includes grant writing, soliciting sponsors, advertisers, and donors, fostering partnerships, running campaigns, and managing finances. The aforementioned skills are all influenced by the relationships we build.
Horn playing and development are much more parallel than one might think. As horn players, we are constantly tuning in to the intricacies and worlds of the people next to us in order to internalize and react to the many moving parts around us in order to make refined art together. Similarly, in this field, you must truly understand motivations and personalities. Development is a great career path for those who love the communal aspect of playing in ensembles, have a deep relationship with music, and have the listening and communication skills to express the need for music in our communities.
As a full-time development professional, I spend the average Monday-Friday each week out at my donor solicitation meetings and in the office or working at home. Some weeks, I am able to drive about 50 minutes south to sub with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Occasionally, I am able to work fully remote and travel a bit farther to play with different orchestras. One of my administrative colleagues, an incredible cellist, also travels across the US to sub in major orchestras and as a cover conductor. The best part of the stability that comes from having a full-time administrative job is that you only need to take gigs that provide some sort of joy or fulfillment. This balance ended up being perfect for me and my personal needs. Hearing about why all sorts of folks enjoy going to the symphony is both healing and motivating.
The beautiful thing about consistently sharing with patrons why music is impactful is that it reminds me every single day why I play the horn. I find myself seeing each practice session as a gift. The limited time and bandwidth also requires each session to be efficient, and I’ve found that my playing has only improved. There is a misconception that transitioning into administrative work will take away from your musical skills and love for your instrument. I’d like to argue that it can really consistently remind you why it is important to do what we do, directing even more meaning to our horn playing. Only we can define what success looks like in our lives. Success, to me, looks like making sure musicians and concertgoers get to always experience what I’ve been so lucky to experience in my life as an artist.
Performing is the cherry on top.
I truly believe that horn players have the malleable and intuitive personalities to be wonderful development professionals.
