NEW YORK — Barbra Streisand is touring Europe with a 58-piece orchestra composed mostly of the cream of New York's freelance musicians. It's a sweet gig for the players. But beyond that, the tour has created a mild economic boom for the pool of musicians left behind.
Many of the Streisand musicians are regulars in Broadway shows like "The Lion King," "Legally Blonde" and "The Color Purple," as well as in the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Westchester Philharmonic.
With their absence, somebody has to substitute. And that means opportunities for others, especially younger musicians or players who have yet to crack the regular lists of contractors.
"I was thrilled," Alison Zlotow, a violinist, said of having received a call to play with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. "As a diverse freelancer, this is just the golden opportunity for me. I love playing with a symphony, and it's really hard to get symphony jobs."
Zlotow is one of several substitute violinists for a recent performance. At least two Brooklyn violinists are off with Streisand.
The job is also a financial break for musicians like Zlotow, 29, who graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston two years ago and was a finalist for a regular position with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. She cobbles a living together by playing at weddings, on church jobs and in concerts with the new-music group the International Contemporary Ensemble. She is also in the backup band for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
"I'm making ends meet, barely," she said. "But I am surviving."
Streisand's tour began last Monday in Zurich. She moves on to Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Manchester, Dublin and London, where she gives her final tour performance on July 25. There are three to five days between each concert, just part of the cushy conditions that make this a plum assignment for the orchestra players.
Pay approaches $3,000 a week, rising to three times that for some principal players, said Michael Keller, the tour contractor. Travel and lodging are paid for, and the musicians receive a $65 per diem. (A weekly salary on Broadway can typically be around $1,500.) The audiences will be huge; the colleagues, expert; and the itinerary, a tourist's ideal.
"It's a dream tour," said Keller, who is also one of the main contractors for Broadway shows.
A look at the Streisand effect, which is especially welcome as the size of Broadway orchestras has declined over recent years, sheds light on New York's freelance system, perhaps the most vibrant in the country, along with that of Los Angeles.
Shows rely on contractors to help fill musicians' chairs. Most are former or current players with a knack for organizing and making contacts. Music directors and orchestrators can also have a say in hiring for musicals. Permanent positions in part-time classical orchestras are often filled through auditions, but contractors organize substitutes and extra musicians when needed.
Keller said he had a database of 2,500 names. He picks dependable, expert musicians whom he has hired in the past, he added, and often consults with principal players to fill out sections with members who can blend and get along musically and personally.
The Streisand orchestra consists mainly of personnel he hired for Streisand's U.S. tour last fall. "Had another contractor been given the assignment, I dare say the makeup of the orchestra would have been substantially different," Keller said.
Once in a show or orchestra, musicians often need subs. Most take on multiple jobs and teaching to make ends meet, and scheduling conflicts are common. In the summer, many take off for festivals. Usually players find their own subs from a network of colleagues and acquaintances.
Michael Boschen and Keith O'Quinn are both busy freelance trombonists, friends and sometime section-mates. Boschen said O'Quinn had often called him to substitute. When O'Quinn was called away on the Streisand tour, he asked Boschen to fill in for performances of "Legally Blonde."
"I guess he must like my playing," Boschen said. "My experience of subbing on Broadway is, there are a lot of different reasons people call you. Personally, I always hope it's about the playing first, and the personality second, and being professional and responsible as well."
Indeed, personality is often cited as a reason behind a contractor's choice, giving rise to charges of favoritism. Musicians seen as difficult may get fewer calls.
Subbing is also a chance to establish a reputation. That is how Boschen said he had been offered a position in the orchestra of "The Full Monty." He said he would have liked to do the Streisand tour but would have been torn. He had set aside time in June to be with his daughter, born May 7.
He said he had tried to waste little time second-guessing why a contractor had chosen another trombonist over him. "When I start to feel insecure about something," he said, "I go practice."
For the tour Keller tapped many of the musicians in the pit orchestras he has put together. So nearly the entire violin section of "Spamalot" — four players — and a trombonist need to be replaced.
The American Ballet Theater orchestra lost a half-dozen of its regular substitutes to the tour, said Matt Dine, the principal oboist and contractor.