You won the audition. After years of preparation, thousands of hours in the practice room, and a nerve-wracking finals round, you’ve secured a position in a professional orchestra. Congratulations \u2014 and welcome to a completely new set of challenges. Winning the audition gets you in the door, but how you navigate your first season determines whether you become a valued colleague or an outsider looking in. Here’s what I wish someone had told me before my first orchestral job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every orchestra has its own culture, and most of the rules are unwritten. In your first few weeks, your primary job is to observe. Notice when people arrive (hint: it’s usually 15-20 minutes before the downbeat, not 2 minutes). Watch how the section handles bowings \u2014 does the principal mark them in advance, or does the section work them out together? Pay attention to the break room dynamics: where people sit, who talks to whom, and which conversations are open for newcomers to join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One universal rule: never offer unsolicited musical opinions in your first season. Even if you studied the Beethoven Seventh with a legendary teacher and have strong feelings about the tempo of the Allegretto, keep them to yourself unless asked. You haven’t earned that social capital yet. Listen, learn, and let your playing speak for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your stand partner is your most important professional relationship in the orchestra. In the first rehearsal, introduce yourself warmly but briefly. Ask about their preferences: do they like the stand angled more toward them or centered? Do they prefer to handle page turns, or would they like you to? These small courtesies signal that you’re a considerate colleague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During rehearsals, follow your stand partner’s lead on bowing adjustments, page turns, and physical setup. If you notice something you’d do differently \u2014 a bowing that feels awkward, a fingering that seems unusual \u2014 write it in pencil and adapt. After you’ve built rapport over a few weeks, you can gently suggest alternatives. But in the beginning, flexibility and adaptability are worth more than being right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will make mistakes. You’ll come in a beat early in the Brahms, you’ll miss a page turn in the Strauss, or you’ll play a wrong note in a pianissimo passage that the entire hall hears. Here’s the secret that experienced orchestral musicians know: everyone has done this. The appropriate response is a small, quiet acknowledgment \u2014 a brief nod or a barely perceptible wince \u2014 and then moving on immediately. Never stop playing to apologize, never make a dramatic facial expression, and absolutely never turn around to see if the conductor noticed. They noticed. They also don’t care, as long as it doesn’t happen every rehearsal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professional orchestras are complex social ecosystems. There are long-standing friendships, quiet rivalries, and political dynamics that you won’t understand for months. The safest strategy in your first season is to be genuinely friendly with everyone and politically aligned with no one. Accept lunch invitations from different groups. Attend social events when you can. Be the person who’s always pleasant, always prepared, and never involved in gossip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A practical tip: learn everyone’s name as quickly as possible. All of them \u2014 not just the strings, but the winds, brass, percussion, and the librarian. The librarian is especially important; they’re the person who can make your life significantly easier or harder. Bring them coffee occasionally. Thank them for well-organized parts. These small gestures build goodwill that pays dividends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A full orchestral season is physically grueling in ways you might not expect. Five-service weeks with heavy repertoire like Mahler, Shostakovich, or Wagner will tax your body. Invest in ergonomics immediately: get a proper chair cushion, adjust your music stand height carefully, and develop a stretching routine for your neck, shoulders, and back that you do before every rehearsal and concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emotionally, the first season can be isolating, especially if you’ve relocated to a new city. It’s normal to feel lonely, overwhelmed, or to question whether you belong. You do belong \u2014 you earned this. Find your anchors outside the orchestra: a regular coffee shop, a gym, a community activity that has nothing to do with music. Having an identity beyond “orchestral musician” keeps you grounded when the professional pressures mount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Join 31,000+ string players leveling up their orchestral career.<\/p>\nGet the Free Guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Ethan Kim is the founder of Orchestra Kingdom<\/a>, helping string players win auditions and move up in their sections. Follow him on Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> for daily tips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Starting your first season in a professional orchestra? Here’s everything you need to know about rehearsal etiquette, building relationships, and fitting in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orchestra-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":393,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions\/393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}