This may or not have happened to me while subbing in a larger orchestra. Let’s say a rostered member of the section you’re subbing in gives you the finger out of frustration for an “unknown” reason. (Assuming it’s for skill level, personality disagreements, or both). Is this considered a form of harassment, or is this Freedom of Speech?
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The best thing to do, imo, is to ask the person why they did that, tell them how it made you feel, and then go from there. And maybe before
you do that, I would also definitely tell someone you trust, if there’s anyone in the orchestra who has your back, to get their support and to ask what this person’s deal is. To the person who did it, a simple “if there’s anything you need that you feel like you’re not getting from me in the section, you need to communicate that to me, and I will be happy and open to discuss it with you. But I will not tolerate disrespectful or degrading behavior directed towards me.”
There’s a lot of crazies out there (and by “out there” I mean in orchestras). Best of luck!
Unfortunate to hear this. People get frustrated, have disagreements, and lash out at each other in workplaces of all kinds. While it’s obviously a rude and childish gesture, I seriously doubt it would rise to the level of harassment.
Deciding whether to report it to anyone would have to be informed by more context. Is this a norm for this orchestra, and for this individual player? Or is it very out of character? In other words, what is the general culture of the group?
Furthermore, how might your handling of this situation impact your opportunities for future work? Is this person a section principal who is unlikely to hire you back anyway, given the circumstances? Or a lone grouchy section member that the other players roll their eyes at? Like any team-based work environment, you have to read between the lines a bit and understand the power dynamics at play before you take any action.
In any case, it’s obviously rude and unnecessary behavior and we all should continue working to guide our industry away from this type of thing. After all, it’s just music.
the only thing i can think of doing is if you subbed in a unionized orchestra, there is very likely some sort of musician's committee and hopefully you could find out who is on there and talk to them. if you don't know. it would be best to say something to the personnel manager so it's on their radar. i'm sorry this happened