"I majored in bass trombone and I minored in sitting." I played 2nd trombone in a good community orchestra, where the 1st player was a math teacher. She would grade papers in the rests, and then pick up her instrument with a few seconds to go. She was always exactly right. She had a lot of training; I think she knew the repertoire thoroughly. But really, sitting isn't so bad. I played both Beethoven 5 and 6 a couple years ago, and it's so fulfilling to be surrounded by some of the best music anyone ever wrote. I didn't mind sitting for three movements. When I was in college, the concert hall had a balcony all the way around the hall. I had a seat behind the orchestra, right above the trombones. When the Cleveland Orchestra trombones entered in Beethoven's 5th Symphony, it was as if I was sitting among them. A great moment.
It's amazing how your sound blends together perfectly. I'm a trombonist, and I played Beethoven's 5th symphony in mid-2003 or 2004 at the Orquestra Sinfônica de Sorocaba here in Brazil. It was very striking for me.
