michael... I'm still perplexed by your idea that somehow identifiying a performer by as amateur, semi-pro or pro is a slur.

As I originally stated, amateur in its original context - history lesson here, was applied to those individuals - often highly talented- who by virtue of their aristocratic position or independent wealth, were able to pursue their area of interest without having to seek a paying position. How does that marginalize anyone? There are plenty of talented people who belong to musical groups and work very hard on their volunteer performances. Amateur is NOT an insult or slur on one's ability... in horse shows we have amateur owner classes, it just means they don't show against the pros... unless they decide to show in an open class.

As someone who has been involved in booking concerts, setting up festivals, running workshops and picking parties... I deal with people who run the gamut. I select for talent and ability to get the job done, bearing in mind that I usually have a budget to meet... and we need to at least break even by the end of the year to keep the organization running.

As for the pros... some are very generous in making themselves available and join in the after concerts sings... and others do their gigs and that's it.

As I said before... performers and all the rest are people. In another thread I had talked about Ed Keeney, a wonderful fiddler from Donegal that I knew back in the 1980's. His day job was driving a bus and he had also been a member of various bands - swing and popular music of the 40's - 60's. I think of him as a wonderful and modest fellow who loved to share his music.

Try and get him to do anything other than a private house concert or join a session, forget it. But he'd donate his time & talent for seniors or benefits.

Going pro is a tough thing to do... mentally, physically and financially. Not everyone wants to go that route. For those that do, give them all the support you can.