An Adult Guide to the Orchestra - Softcover

There they are. Those seventy or ninety or two hundred (if it's the movies) happy members of the symphony. Such ensemble, such beauty, such romance. In An Adult Guide to the Orchestra, Juilliard-trained violinist Sheldon Kurland takes a hilariously close look at these musicians and the instruments they play. From the much maligned violists to the quirky habits of conductors, each member of the orchestra is explained in detail, accompanied by delightful, light-hearted illustrations. Kurland's first-chair seat gives him the perfect perspective to cast a humorous light on serious music. Perfect for the aspiring musician, the seasoned professional, or any classical music lover, An Adult Guide to the Orchestra is a small gift book that will sell 1,243,789 copies plus three to trombone and viola players.

Sheldon Kurland, a Juilliard-trained violinist, taught music at Cornell University and Peabody College, where his specialty was inventing musical history facts upon which his students were eventually tested. As a young man, he won the Major Bowes Amateur Radio Hour before turning pro later in life with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, where he was Assistant Concertmaster, much to his chagrin. For a brief while, he carried an iron clarinet in the 5th Armored Division Band. He also played in the Cornell University Trio, the Peabody Trio, and to his own surprise, he played once with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. After leaving the college professor business, he went into the recording industry full-time, playing with a wide variety of artists, from Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, to Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton. He had cameo appearances in the films Wild Wild West and Existo and toured with Neil Young. His hope was always to become a professional baseball player but he ended up with more lifetime hits than Pete Rose. In his spare time, Shelly was a dedicated writer, turning out numerous short stories, memoirs, and a play, "The Bluebird Cafe" as well as this book. Sheldon Kurland died in 2010, taking him halfway to his goal of a posthumous Pulitzer.