: Why are saxophones not commonly included in orchestras?
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One other thing to note from a business/administrative perspective that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
As others have mentioned, saxophones are only occasionally written for and have some but not a lot of orchestral repertoire. While most musicians in an orchestra are tenured or per service (paid for each rehearsal/concert), whenever a piece is programmed with a saxophone (or other oblique instruments, such as a zither, euphonium, etc), they are often contracted for their time and paid more than the typical service rate. There is no “saxophone section” so there’ll typically be a local saxophonist that steps in, or they’ll call someone from out of town.
With the growth in unions, the above note about pay isn’t universal – some orchestras pay the guest musician the same standard service rate. It also depends on the instrument in question and the demand of the person they’re looking to call, as soloists will charge higher rates even if they’re only playing the orchestral parts (as opposed to soloing with the orchestra).
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