My AM church gig was weird. The orchestra was performing for most of the service; the only small band song was us backing up the middle schooler choir on a gospel tune. I ended up sitting through everything and only playing for the one song. It's confusing to me--if you're paying me to be there, why not use me on everything? I could have played second flute, third clarinet, bass clarinet, or any of the saxophone parts.
We played two services. In the second, they brought in a second flutist to play when the only flute player switched to piccolo. I sat and watched. Maybe I should add a copy of my diploma to my bag with flute, clarinet, picc, and instrument stands. Look! I'm qualified! It's disappointing to me that they think of me as only being able to do the SNL sax player kind of stuff when I could be contributing in other styles.
Just for the record, I really killed it in the second service.
My PM gig was moved from the cathedral into the parish hall due to some kind of special service or concert. I wonder why they scheduled it for Sunday night when there was already a mass in that time slot? Wouldn't it be better if it wasn't competing with something else at the church for people and parking?
Anyway, the parish hall is sounding pretty good these days. They bumped up the amplifiers for the speakers in the ceiling (so we have enough headroom at the mixer), and now the sound is easier to manage. It definitely makes me less apprehensive about playing Christmas Eve in there.
