Great that you’ve had some experience playing in pit orchestras prior to going to college. Once the pandemic subsides, see if you can get more experience along those lines at your school and in the community. Being a highly proficient sight reader and being proficient on more than one instrument is also really helpful for being able to get work in pit orchestras. As for high level Broadway-type pit orchestras, it remains to be seen what kind of budgets they’ll have as they first reopen live shows. There’s a lively theatre community in Chicago so that may be the place to start looking once things resume in a new-normal fashion.

It depends on the what kind of orchestra. Perhaps your teacher meant a K-12 pit or one at your school? We obviously don’t know your skill level, but know that for any more advanced orchestra, you’d be competing with far more seasoned, professional musicians who double on other instruments as well.

While we do know of music educators who also perform in pit orchestras, they must be highly skilled with expertise on more than one instrument in order to be considered. Who you know is also helpful! Whatever path you take, be sure to continue to hone your technical performance skills as well as sight-reading – pit orchestra members need to be quick studies because they often don’t have a lot of time to learn the music.

It depends on what the orchestra needs. The more proficient you are on more instruments, the better your chances. So much depends on who you know and how they get to know your level of proficiency.

You need to be a top notch performer who doubles on more than one instrument and has excellent sight-reading skills to get work in pit orchestras. There isn’t a lot of time to learn your part, so being a quick study with the music is essential.

Take a look at Broadwaymusicians.com to see the instrumentation used in many recent and current Broadway shows. You will find viola in several of them. As the author of this article points out, however, you probably have a better chance of getting into a pit orchestra if you double on at least another instrument – in this case, violin.

Read all of the comments in addition to this article. You’ll learn more about the typical instrumentation in pit orchestras. Most pit orchestra players including the author of this article do other work in music such as composing, teaching, performing solo, in ensembles or bands – work that offers the flexibility that performers in pit orchestras need.

From Brett McDonald:

Bret Pimentel has a great resource on his website which lists nearly every broadway show and the woodwind books on them: https://shows.bretpimentel.com/. Visit to see what is typically paired with bass clarinet on a musical theatre show.

Often, bass clarinet is part of a standard “Low Reed” book, which would contain bass clarinet, baritone saxophone and bassoon. Bass clarinet appears much more often on books that have tenor saxophone and clarinet. Sometimes, in a reduced orchestration, there’s a clarinet-only book, with Eb clarinet, Bb clarinet and bass clarinet. The recent domestic tour of West Side Story, for example, used this type of orchestration.

To begin, I’d recommend picking up the Bb clarinet, and start playing saxophone earlier rather than later. Bassoon isn’t as necessary but is useful.

Be sure to read the comments in this article! Note that during intermission, performers often need time to take care of personal needs before giving their all to the second half of the show.

From the author of this article: “Generally in the touring musical world, music directors and associate directors are typically keyboardists, even if keyboard is their second instrument. The reason for this is so the company doesn’t need to pay both a rehearsal pianist and a conductor for choreography rehearsals for the actors. The music business world is still a business, and will try to find people with the necessary skills to reduce their costs when possible.”

We’ve put your question to the author for his feedback. Stay tuned.