Players

[Geoffrey S. Nathan]

I'd appreciate it if someone could point me to a resource on professional musicians' slang. 
A debate has arisen here about the expression 'players' used to refer to the musicians of a symphony orchestra. Some are saying that it's a sign of respect, while others say it's trivializing their talents. 
For reasons I won't go into, I am tangled in the current labor dispute some of you may have read about that is ongoing here in Detroit. 
Any thoughts anyone might have would be greatly appreciated. I know that professional violinists are called 'fiddlers' and 'orchestras' are called bands. I'm looking for similar evidence of jargon, but am away from any useful reference material. 

Many thanks 

Geoff 


Geoffrey Nathan 
C & IT and English 
Wayne State University 
Detroit, MI, 48230 
+1 313 577-1259 Sent from my Pre 

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org