This book provides a practical and engaging look at living the life of a professional musician. Drawing upon decades of experience in the orchestra pit and the teaching studio, Tom Heimberg's advice and insights about both practice and performance will prove invaluable to the aspiring young musician who dreams of making a successful career in music. This book will resonate, too, with the experienced professional who revels in the talk of the trade. And for the music lover in the audience, it will provide unique glimpses at life backstage. Musicians and music lovers of all levels will appreciate the wealth of practical information it provides, interwoven with humorous vignettes about working and playing with inspired musicians of the 20th century.