ten fingers, many roles

One of my tasks as a pianist is to not sound like a pianist. Yesterday, my schedule was packed with attempts to replicate the shimmer of a string section, the muted tone of a french horn, the plaintive breath of the flute, and the massive heft of a brass section. Yes folks, it is that time of year again at your local school of music: the annual concerto competition.
A concerto is a piece for soloist and orchestra, and it designed to showcase the capabilities of the featured instrumentalist. Every year, the students of Crane who have passed a certain level of proficiency are invited to try their hand (literally) at winning this competition. The "prize"? A performance with the Crane Symphony Orchestra and the undying admiration of their fellow classmates.
My job in all of this excitement? I get to be the orchestra! When a student needs to rehearse for a concerto and it is time for the orchestra to be added to the ensemble, it's generally impossible to find a spare orchestra just hanging around, looking for something to do. In the light of this problem, someone came up with the idea to reduce the parts of up to forty instrumentalists into two handy staffs. Two very handy, very crowded staffs. ( staves? who says staves?)
"Let's invite a pianist to play this! There are plenty of them hanging around, looking for something to do..."
Not really. But it does explain what I have been up to these past few weeks. (Not including the levels, juries, studio performances, lessons, German Diction II class, Musical Theater Class, and all the rehearsals that these imply.)
This is not a complaint. However, I am exulting in the fact that new year is a self-proclaimed year off from working at Crane.