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V.com weekend vote: How far have you had to travel for a gig or performance?

January 27, 2012 at 4:52 PM

As I was driving across Los Angeles during rush hour for a gig last week, I began to think about how much traveling I've done on behalf of various performances. Mind you, I'm no peripatetic soloist -- someone like Joshua Bell plays in a different city every day and a different country every month. I'm just a free-lance orchestra player, and over my years of doing this, I suppose I've logged a lot of miles.

For several periods of time and in several different states, I was contracted with orchestras at least 60 miles away from my home, requiring about six or seven trips a month for rehearsals and performances. This is very normal for classical musicians. For a while, I traveled to another state. A few times I got on a plane to do so!

These days I don't do quite as much of those kinds of gigs, though living in Los Angeles, an "in-town" gig can take as much traveling time as an "out-of-town" gig did when I lived in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois or Indiana. Incidentally, such gigs are a wonderful way to get to know fellow colleagues, carpooling.

How far have you had to travel for a gig or performance?

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The Google Maps says my all-time record is a tick under 700 miles, though that isn't par for the course!

A decent mileage reimbursement isn't as common as it used to be...

Not at all!
I got to say "another continent" though really it doesn't count since it was to play at my sister-in-law's wedding not a paying gig.
Steve--same for me! I had to put down something or I wouldn't have been able to see the bar graph. This winter, I gave my in-laws in the next state over a little concert (planned in advance) while visiting them. That's the first time I've formally played for someone else. I recently joined our local Scottish Fiddlers club and won't go much further than my own city for the meetings, which by their design is like a performance.
I put "another country". That's because Wales is just a mile away!
there was almost the same vote about 8dec2009, respondents seem more traveled then