Hello all.
Re. unpaid work, I think what everyone had to get in mind here is:
Am I a professional singer? Am I a professionally trained singer, but doing another job to pay the mortgage? Am I a good amateur?
If you're a pro singer, you would only sing in a chorus, be it musical or opera or choral, if you had a need to a)pay the bills as that's what you do as a pro or b)if you're a jobbing singer that hops from show to show (generally quite a successful move money wise, but not necessarily artistic wise!)
If you work for Andersons and do a bit of singing on the side, then you're not a pro, so you've no reason to expect any money for your 'art'.
If you're an amateur, none of the above apply. Not because you may not be good, but because you could be taking work away from a pro (however bad!)
I only take this stance because it all boils down to my favourite word which is: common sense. If you're a professional singer who takes a non paid job because you like the music, or you think it might do you some good, then clear off out of the profession, 'coz you're deluded! There is not these days, enough jobs to go round (like there were 50 years ago) and they should always go to a pro. It would be churlish to think otherwise. I'm all in favour of people making the best of what they have, but you have to be circumspect. A pro singer is very different from an amateur, and therein lies this paradox if you will?
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