Contracts for church gigs?

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi David,

I wouldn’t try to advise you on what you should or shouldn’t do – you’ll know best – but my curiosity is piqued: how is a service like this conducted? Is it like a stage play, with readings, musical interludes, a sermon interspersed here and there, or sort of a variant on the Hill Cumorah Mormon pageant? Never heard of anything like this!

(And hoping you escape the stress of this thing soon, whichever way you choose.)

[lyn-boundy]

I’m thoroughly caught up in this whole story and can’t wait to hear how it all turns out in the end but I’m also intrigued by the way you seem to expect good behaviour from an organisation simply because it is a church. Why would you assume these people would be any more competent or ethical than anyone else? I do hope none of this came about because you saw them as a special case from the beginning and therefore failed to demand the same standards of behaviour from them that you would demand from every other paying customer. I guess this is at least a lesson to everyone else out there not to fall for that kind of thinking.

[David Ice]

This is a HUGE production–truly Broadway Goes To Church. The first part is secular (i.e. Santa’s Workshop, Toyland, etc for the kids) and the second part is sacred, complete with live animals and a cast of hundreds. They EASILY spend $250K if not more and they’ve been doing this for 24 years now. So it’s not like this is their first time at the rodeo.

Perhaps I’m too trusting, but I would hope that a church that puts on the Pageant To End All Pageants to honor the birth of the Prince Of Peace would at least be honest and not lie to my face. I have over 100 pages of “nothing to play.”

I played the past two years with no problem. I was “hired” back on May 11 because all the pastors at this church said “this was the best orchestra ever–get them all back!” They have hired the best freelance players–I play with these people all the time!–and I’m flattered that they would include me in that elite group. So I didn’t beg or demean myself to get this gig….the church called ME.

The latest—–

I wondered if this reminder email about the unknown rehearsal today at 2pm was automatically generated–yet it came from the conductor’s private email account. So I wrote him and asked “Would you please confirm that this email is valid…that you DO want me there tomorrow at 2pm??? I have my first rehearsal as Dec 2 (Monday).”

He wrote back: “You are correct in that we do not see you until Dec. 2.”

SO…….the lesson to be learned today, boys and girls, it so IGNORE ALL EMAILS no matter what it says….and that man behind the curtain as well. “They want me….they want me not….they want me….they want me not.

Truly this production is produced by the Three Stooges and the musical direction is by Laurel & Hardy.

The only positive is that I now have until Dec. 2 to prep my 100 pages of “nothing to play.”

I’m seriously tempted now to show up, get my paycheck, but unplug my microphone for all the shows.

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi David,

You have my deepest sympathies. I’m a (former church) organist. Now I play the harp and I have a digitally sampled organ in my recording studio. My husband plays for a really nice Episcopal church, where he’s respected and treated well, but he has the scars to show from so many years working for churches of many denominations. If it weren’t for the fact that he loves to play the pipe organ and it helps to pay the bills, he wouldn’t be there on Sunday mornings anymore. I don’t go to any church, nor play in one, regardless of the fact that I work with sacred material. I’ve been burned myself. We’re just the hired help. 🙁

As my organ professor said, “the church business is a business.” Sorry to hear this thing is ruining your holidays. Kind of runs counter to what Christmas should be about. I do like your idea about unplugging the mike though! 🙂

Best,
Sherri

[Sylvia]

Just a thought. What about next year? I hope David is planning ahead so he will know how to make these people behave.

[lyn-boundy]

Next year? PLEASE say you won’t ever put yourself through all this again! I think perhaps in this case you have been too trusting David, though that only speaks for what a nice guy you must be, but churches are run by people and are no better or worse than those people concrned. Fair enough, I think it’s one thing to trust people you’ve played with many times before but not to trust an organisation just because of the type of organisation it is. It’s the expectation that [eople will do this that lets them get away with this kind of behaviour. I LOVE the idea of turning off your mic! Are you getting paid before the performance?

[Sylvia]

I still question the use of animals. They probably starve and dehydrate the animals before the show to ensure there are no waste products to mar their fancy presentation.
Also, it’s great to use church money to pay musicians (that’s a worthy cause), but they could put all the rest of the money to good use to help out tornado victims, etc.

[Loonatik]

If you’re not in need of the income from the performance, just commit for the performance day + 1-2 rehearsal(s). Free up your other days for better opportunities.

That should save you all the stress. And in case they really don’t need you, last minute, you can still walk away from it without bearing any grudge.

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Sylvia,

I agree with you 1000% on that one… cicuses in general are falling out of favor because undercover investigators have found they are rife with animal abuse. But I don’t know how you’d go about getting any show checked out… Maybe In Defense of Animals would be a start. Hard to know if that’s going on here, but animal shows are so yesterday. You’ve got a great idea about helping storm victims too. FEMA can be slow. We saw that here in VT after Hurricane Irene.

[David Ice]

Trust me, I will NOT be playing with them next year, or ANY year in the future.

None of this makes any sense–even down to the “ignore all emails unless we actually mean it” feats of clairvoyance. But a friend did posit a rational explanation.

The lies about no printed parts, the weird schedule, and the re-scheduling to make sure I’m there for all performances on December 7. make no logical sense…………unless:

Some VIP in the church, or some huge donor to the production, has a daughter, granddaughter, or niece who plays the harp, and this person(s) insist that little Tinkerbelle play the harp part.

Suddenly it all makes sense–we don’t want you, there are no parts; then suddenly we DO want you for sure on these dates when you must, absolutely be there……

The dates involved are most likely when we will have real VIP guests in the audience: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Senator John McCain, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. These people have attended each year in the past–and those dates are when they are likely to attend. And the conductor is justifiably afraid little Tinkerbelle can’t cut it.

I really don’t think they hired another professional harpist! I know for a fact that we’re all booked out solid for December, and in some cases they are importing harpists from hundreds of miles away to cover gigs.

Granted, this is a hypothesis, but suddenly ALL the pieces fall into place.

I will sneak in on a performance I’m not playing to see if they have another harpist, and if she’s playing my harp!

I will keep everybody posted.

[jimmy-h]

Wait, what? They get to keep your harp on location even when your not playing?

[Angela Biggs]

They… might let someone *else* use **your** harp?! I’m, wow, shocked. Please do keep us posted. Who would think to include a contract clause about total strangers using your privately owned, expensive instrument? Good grief.

[David Ice]

I’m not moving the harp over hill and over dale (remember, this is a VERY big church!) out of the “pit” for each service, especially when I’m not playing the matinee but I am playing the evening performance. I have a bad back, and moving the harp 11+ times isn’t practical, especially with a crowded pit and mike cables to contend with. I will cover the harp (black padded cover) and leave it there.

[Philippa mcauliffe]

I would be tempted to tune down to an unusual pitch on the occasions that Tinkerbelle might be following on and hope he/she doesn’t notice….or perhaps remove a few key strings.

[lyn-boundy]

Using performing animals; hanging on to your harp between performances (couldn’t you find some way of padlocking it or making it otherwise unplayable?); non-existant contracts and unreasonable demands – this really sounds like the dodgiest of gigs. Not only do I hope you will never play for them again but I hope you’ll also put the word around so that other performers will know what they may be up against.

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