This time it’s real.  It’s take-it-in-the-gut-and-suck-the-air-out-of-you real!  This is no mamby-pamby children’s tale.  This is the unrated, uncut, unfit for human eyes, director’s version.  We have all seen the signs – the little pieces of sky falling here and there – but we have chosen to ignore them.  Now, we can’t afford to do that anymore.  The sky of our trumpet world is falling, collapsing in a heap around us.  Young kids in diapers winning orchestra jobs left and right, leaving everyone else to ponder why in the world they ever picked up a trumpet in the first place.  It is time for a panic: a sell-all-your-horns-on-eBay-get-your-real-estate-license-why-have-I-wasted-so much-of-my-life-playing-the-trumpet kind of panic.  We need the expert.  We need Chicken Little.

If you have ever envisioned a career playing in a major symphony orchestra, your sky is falling, and falling in big juicy chunks.  Early on there was Chris Martin.  I think Chris won his first orchestra gig when he chose to focus on the audition list for the Philadelphia Orchestra, rather than the 8th grade band tryout material his band director had assigned.  Okay, so he wasn’t that young, but he was young enough.  When he won the Associate Principal Trumpet position in the Philadelphia Orchestra, the writing was on the wall.  If you looked carefully, you could see pieces of sky already beginning to peel off and small chunks falling to the ground.  But no one was that concerned then, and the falling sky was almost universally ignored.  Now, he has won the vaunted position of Principal Trumpet in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, leaving anyone else with desires for the job to wait in their swaddling clothes for the next audition in 2040, or 2050, or, if he stays as long as Bud Herseth, 2059.  And you thought the wait at your favorite restaurant on a Friday night was bad.  What is that on the ground beside you?

More recently, we have the shining example of Carol Jantsch, the 20-year-old wunderkind who bagged the prestigious tuba position in the Philadelphia Orchestra.  She is the first female tuba player in the history of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and is likely the first female tuba player to hold a position in any major American symphony orchestra.  She won’t be starting her new job right away, though.  She needs to go back to school and finish her undergraduate degree.  Yes, that is what I said: undergraduate degree.   “But she is a tuba player,” you protest, “I play the trumpet.  It is an entirely different thing?”  Maybe it is.  What’s that on your shoe?

Did anyone see the video clips of the four-year-old kid playing the trumpet?  His playing is pretty good -- he probably would out perform many high school students.  Did I mention he is four?  I don’t know if I was even potty trained when I was four.  But I’m glad I was when I saw that video.  I needed it then!

This past week, however, contained another viscous body blow to anyone who thought that you could actually learn to play the trumpet, rather than simply emerge from the womb, trumpet in hand, Mahler 5 blazing out the bell.  Northwestern student Matthew Mucky was the surprise winner of the Associate Principal Trumpet chair in the New York Philharmonic.  Like Carol Jantsch, Mathew will likely be unable to start his new position right away.  He’s got to get that pesky undergraduate degree sewed up before heading off to New York.  Having reached the grand old age of 21, Mr. Muckey will be bringing in over $100,000 playing the trumpet in the best brass section in the country.  Fortunately for him, having reached a legal drinking age, his friends will be able to buy him a beer to celebrate his achievement.

I remember when I finished my undergraduate degree.  Somehow I missed the option that took me directly into the New York Philharmonic, so I opted to continue my education and get my Master’s degree.  After completing my Master’s degree I again missed that path (Do not pass go.  Do not collect $100,000), and decided to freelance for a while. I can say, however, that the January after earning my Master’s degree in trumpet performance, I managed to make $100!  Yes, that is sadly the correct number of zeros after the 1.  Where the #@$!% is that mangy little bird?

It is time to panic.  Sound the alarm.  Sell your trumpets.  Get a newspaper route.  Run like the wind.  No, run like Forest Gump, only further, faster, and more clean-shaven. Someone get the Chicken Little Phone.  Step away from your computer now.  Let the great panic of the trumpet world commence!

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What?  Why are you still reading?  You should be in a full-fledged panic at this point.  You should at least be polishing up your horns for the great eBay sell off of 2006.  Are you hoping that there is some moral to the story, some sappy-happy ending that will make you feel all warm and cuddly inside?  Well, you won’t get it here.  The sky of your trumpet career is crashing down all around you, and you are frozen to your computer.  Your alpha, your omega, your dreamy orchestra career in all its blazing glory is smashing to the pavement in big juicy chunks.  Okay, so maybe it isn’t your alpha and your omega, but it is important right?  Just think of all the time you have invested attempting to reach your goals.   Now, they are being destroyed by some kid in diapers, who can’t comprehend why in the world anyone would ever struggle so mightily to play the trumpet.

Still not convinced?  Good.  You might just get that sappy ending after all.  Before you finalize all seven of your eBay trumpet auctions, sit down and think for a moment.  Why do you play the trumpet?  Really think about it.  Don’t just give yourself a knee-jerk reaction of an answer.  Think in depth about your true motivations for playing your instrument.  Now, ask yourself if the success of any of these diaper-laden-orchestra-superstars has really changed that?  True, you may have really wanted that now-filled position, but there will be other positions.  There are always more positions.  It may seem certain that these jobs are gone, never to return during your audition career, but that is not necessarily the case. We have no crystal ball to see how the future will play out.  Everything may seem certain from our current perspective, but then again, our current perspective is not a really good one for viewing the whole parade.

The bottom line is this: if you play your instrument because you love it, then none of these recent events will change that.  If you have aspirations for greatness on the trumpet and in music, you should keep striving.  There will be opportunities.  Pathways will unfold before you, leading you into directions that you never imagined.  There is no way to know how your talent will blossom.  Some flowers bloom early in spring, others late in the summer; the timing is of little concern, for their beauty is unaffected.  It is difficult to know if and when your career will bloom, but if you work hard and smart, you will have opportunities.  Make the most of them, and see where they take you.  In the end, whether your career is a success or not, it will likely be the journey, rather than the destination, that gives you the best stories and brings you the most joy.  It is entirely possible that Chicken Little is wiser and more discerning than we could have ever imagined.  Happy Practicing.

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