SIGN-UP AND JOIN THE BLACK ROCK PHILHARMONIC
"Where words fail, music speaks."
- Hans Christian Andersen
Play with Black Rock Philharmonic
Welcome to sign-ups to perform for the 2025 Season of the Black Rock Philharmonic!
In order to make sure that people who are joining us are given enough time to practice, review Maestro’s notes, and get ready to go to the desert, once we open, we will get everyone signed up, post parts–and then, in the late summer, close sign ups.
For those of you who know–playing with 70-100 other people in a coordinated way takes practice and a good bit of work before we get to Playa.
So, to keep it fair, we really, really, try to limit “drop ins”.
Tickets/Camping
The Black Rock Philharmonic is pulled from all across the world, the United States, and in particular, Burning Man. As such we do not coordinate or arrange anyone’s camping arrangements. We love all our musicians but looking after the camping arrangement of 100 musicians would probably melt our collective brains. That being said, who and where you camp matters. Our advice is that you take the time to figure out camps from your local area (Facebook, etc) and starting NOW–figure out how compatible you are with various kinds of folks. Some people never want to sleep; some people want to dance all the time; some people are loud, some are quiet, some are minimalists, some take the kitchen sink to the desert. Figuring all that out and figuring how you want to Burn is–well, up to you. We’re glad that playing with us is part of that plan! And look forward to seeing you in the dust.
Frequently Asked Questions
I would buy a cheap plastic instrument and bring that. Something like a used student model, or even a super low-end new instrument. Because here’s some real talk – your high performance beautiful intonation horn that makes you sound like an angel *will absolutely not* perform as it does normally.
I also come from a very humid climate so the shock to Bruce (my Playa bassoon) is something I actively have to mitigate. I feel compelled to add, since hearing that a bassoon goes out to the dessert might make you feel courageous: while Bruce means the world to me, she isn’t really a great instrument and had sat unused in the back of my closet for over a decade before attending That Thing in the Desert, AND I have a regular, non-playa bassoon for civilized non-desert feral situations.
If you can’t buy a cheap instrument, you could rent. I think a fair amount of people do. If I haven’t dissuaded you yet from bringing your treasured musical magic wand, there are tips and tricks I can share.
As for what you can expect while playing: your reed will dry out really fast if you’re still using cane reeds. Like while you are actively playing a passage. Consider getting a plastic reed. I usually have multiple reeds soaking so I can rotate mid-performance, but that’s probably not a viable solution for a single reed.
Keypads might fall off, and cork shrinkage might produce leaks. Bring extra pads, glue, and tooth floss.
You can make individual wrappers for each of the parts of your instrument out of thin disposable emergency blankets, wrapping them like pieces of almond roca inside the case. This will help ease the shock of transitioning to the desert atmosphere. I found they disintegrate too quickly to be of use all week, but it helps with the initial shock.
Clean, clean, clean, as best you can, each time. Sometimes that means just putting it back in the case as quick as possible until the whiteout passes, and then taking it back out to swab. (This year I’m considering bringing multiple silks, so I can use a clean one each time I swab so I’m never dragging a dusty silk through my instrument.)
And just as important as your instrument is your case. They make GIANT ziplock storage bags. I get one big enough to put my bassoon case in. I cannot recommend that enough. And if you DO end up renting, do not – I repeat DO NOT- bring the case they give you.
As wind players we have the added challenge to keep ourselves hydrated and fueled up enough to not pass out when we play. Really, really keep up with your water intake before and during rehearsals. Especially hydrate during the first practices, before you’re fully acclimated. Someone always locks their knees and passes out, don’t let it be you!!!
I’d invest in a super slim collapsible stand, we are tasked with bringing our own. Also, a small but sturdy camp stool or chair if you need it.
Put your music in a 3 ring binder and slip the sheets into those plastic sleeves with the holes. Bring paper clips or clips to hold the music down. In my experience, what works best for weighting the stand is a gallon jug of water, a carabiner, and a short length of whatever to lash them together.
Soloists
As an orchestra of 70-100 musicians, we are mostly interested in performing with one another rather than backing a concerto performance. We do, however, have a soloist perform at each show and occasionally other opportunities pop up. They have been some of best musical moments out there. To help us out with your application to be one of those folks, could you give us an recording / video, and what piece/song(s) you might sing/perform if you were given ~4 minutes? Plan on it being either be an a capella arrangement or have an arrangement for accompaniment by our fantastic pianist. We have a few other possibilities we can discuss as well. Also, if this YoYo Ma’s artistic management reaching out, you can assume all the stuff above is simply blather and tell us where, when, and how.
Email: [email protected]
Playing at an Art Piece
Each year we go out, the Black Rock Philharmonic tries to perform one concert out in the Playa at a large art piece. Such past concert sites have included La Victrola, The Orb (sunrise; dawn is tough lol), The Folly (yes please!), and Paradisium (The trees we love).
Our criteria for this art piece is that it hopefully fulfills a number of things all at once.
First that your monumental art piece is available on Thursday at about 6:00 PM for us to perform—and not cross-scheduled as a wedding site, or art car hoe-down at the same time. That’s your call.
Second, we would prefer that the art be BIG; it’s best if its height and massing offer shade to a large part of the orchestra since 100 degree heat and direct sunlight make doing our best somewhat difficult. We hope we can all acknowledge that performing on acoustical classical instruments in the middle of a desert is utterly and magnificently mad, right? But heatstroke and instrument damage still isn’t that much fun.
Third, it’s really best if the art is solid and approximately 50 to 70 feet or more in width. Our reasoning for this is that it provides a further windbreak, shade, and an acoustical backdrop to help us bounce our sound forward. There’s also an odd detail where we’ll try to convince you to set up your generators on the WEST side of the are piece so that we can set up on the quiet EAST side in the shade to perform.
Finally, because we know how things are and how many obstacles there are to getting a piece onto the Playa, as an orchestra, we need to come to the conclusion that we can work with the artist(s) building the piece and that the piece will indeed be on the Playa and ready to go when we arrive with our full orchestra. Unfortunately, those of us who have some experience of Burning Man know that there are obstacles that can arise that can derail even the most promising project and committed artist.
If this sounds like a possible fit for you, please reach us at: [email protected] and let’s start a dialogue.
Just to give you a sense of the scale of what we are talking about; in 2019, we looked like this, and there were about 3000 people at the Folly.
Mayan Warrior, our good partner; RIP.
And in 2022, at Paradisium, it looked liked this: 3-5,000 people and 17 art cars.
We’re supplying these to make it clear: it’s about logistics and fit. Let’s see if we’re the right fit.
Volunteering and Support
Black Rock Philharmonic thrives with Burners support and extra help is always appreciated. If you or a friend would like to volunteer before or during concert weeks, please feel free to speak to us or email us at [email protected].
