[on film studio orchestras] It has often been remarked that the sight-reading ability of these orchestras was legendary, and I have to add my voice to that existing chorus. These players were genuinely amazing. They would show up each morning, utterly unaware of what it was they were expected to record that day. It could have been a score by Alex North or Bernard Herrmann, or David Raksin or Miklos Rozsa, or just as easily a Tom and Jerry cartoon or a dance number for Fred Astaire. They would casually glance at the parts on their stands, the ink still wet, and would proceed to play with the same expert disdain a professional parking lot attendant uses to back a new convertible into a tight space.
