What Every String Player Should Know About Working as a Substitute in Professional Orchestras

Almost every professional orchestral musician started their career doing sub and extra work. It is the proving ground where careers are built, reputations are made, and future full-time positions are won. But subbing comes with its own set of challenges, unwritten rules, and survival skills that nobody teaches you in conservatory. Here is what you actually need to know.

How Substitute Work Actually Functions

Professional orchestras maintain a sub list of approved musicians who can fill in when tenured members are absent due to illness, leave, or other commitments. Getting on this list usually requires either an audition specifically for the sub list or a recommendation from current orchestra members. Some orchestras also call extras for large-scale works that require expanded instrumentation, like Mahler symphonies or Strauss tone poems.

The personnel manager is your most important contact. This is the person who calls subs, and they keep mental notes on who is reliable, who plays well, and who is easy to work with. Being on good terms with the personnel manager is essential. Respond to calls promptly, even if you cannot accept the gig. A quick ‘Thank you for thinking of me, I am not available this week’ is infinitely better than silence.

Preparation Is Non-Negotiable

When you get called for a sub week, you may receive the program days or even hours before the first rehearsal. You need to be able to learn music quickly and arrive prepared. Build a personal library of standard orchestral parts. Having your own marked copy of Beethoven symphonies, Brahms symphonies, and common repertoire saves precious time.

If the program includes a piece you have never played, get the part immediately and start learning it. Listen to recordings while following along with the score. Mark bowings, cues, and tricky passages. When you sit down at the first rehearsal, you should be able to play through the program competently, if not perfectly. Walking in unprepared is the fastest way to never get called again.

I remember my first sub week with a regional orchestra. The program included Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, a piece I had never performed. I spent two days intensely preparing the violin part, marking every entrance and studying the solo violin passages so I could follow along. That preparation made the difference between a successful week and a disaster.

Navigate the Social Dynamics

As a sub, you are a guest in someone else’s workplace. Be friendly but not overly familiar. Do not offer unsolicited opinions about bowings, tempos, or the conductor. Sit down, open your music, and play your part well. That is your job.

Introduce yourself to your stand partner and the people sitting near you. Ask about any bowing conventions specific to the section. Every orchestra has its own culture around markings, and what worked at your last gig might not apply here. A simple ‘Do you have any specific bowings I should know about?’ shows professionalism and respect.

Arrive early. Fifteen minutes before the rehearsal call is a good minimum. This gives you time to find your seat, set up, and review any tricky spots. Being late as a sub is essentially career suicide in that orchestra. Personnel managers talk to each other, and a reputation for unreliability spreads quickly.

Turn Sub Work Into a Full-Time Career

Many tenured orchestra positions are won by musicians who first proved themselves as subs. When a vacancy opens, the audition committee already knows the sub players who have been filling in. If you have consistently delivered excellent playing and easy-going professionalism, you have a significant advantage.

Treat every sub service as an extended audition. Your playing, your attitude, your punctuality, and your collegial behavior are all being observed, even if nobody says so. Colleagues notice who blends well, who follows the concertmaster, and who is musically flexible.

Keep a professional log of every sub engagement: the orchestra, the dates, the repertoire, and the personnel manager’s contact information. This becomes your network over time. When you have subbed with six different orchestras over two seasons, you have built relationships that can lead to recommendations, extra calls, and eventually audition invitations for permanent positions.

Substitute work can feel unstable and unpredictable, but it is the apprenticeship system of the orchestral world. Embrace it, excel at it, and it will open doors that nothing else can.

Ethan Kim is the founder of Orchestra Kingdom, helping string players win auditions and move up in their sections. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for daily tips.