Beyond the Baton
garding the types of positions for which you might be ready. A conducting teacher should be a mentor and friend for you during your entire career.
Summer Festivals and Seminars In addition to your main teacher, you should attend music festivals and conducting workshops to help round out your training. Many of these are off ered throughout the United States and Europe. Attending summer music festivals is recommended for many reasons: . . . . .
You are able to study with someone else and get a new opinion on conducting technique and style; You can interact with other conductors to share experiences and ideas; You will work with other orchestral musicians who will become familiar with your name and your work; This is an opportunity to be “seen,” which might lead to other doors opening for your career; and You have something new to put on your résumé.
When you are attending a conducting workshop or festival, sometimes the new ideas presented will conflict with other concepts you have been taught or other theories you believe. When this happens, it is best to keep your opinions to yourself and to be open to new learning experiences. Try to do exactly what the teacher requests and try to absorb every bit of information that you can. You will have plenty of time later for further reflection. After the festival is over, you can decide what you want to incorporate into your style and what you choose to discard. It is only by being open to new ideas that you can make progress and define what is important, and true, for you. After attending these types of programs, try to stay in touch with your new colleagues. They will be your network for programming ideas, recommendations, and feedback in the future. A list of festivals and conducting programs is available in the Resource section.
Instrument Training In your early training, you will probably have studied an orchestral instrument or piano, or both. As a conductor, you do not need to be proficient playing every instrument in the orchestra because you will usually defer to the individual expertise of your musicians. There are some specific areas, however, where a more in-depth knowledge is necessary for your success.
Chapter 1 Preparing for Success
Piano
It is necessary for anyone studying to be a conductor to study and master basic piano technique. Proficiency at score-reading at the piano is a requirement. If you are not fluent in this skill, I recommend a series of books, Partiturspiel, by Heinrich Creuzberg, to help you master this technique. The ability to read quickly through a new score will be a tremendous asset when you are faced with learning a lot of music in a short amount of time. Strings
Studying a string instrument is very helpful when dealing with string sound as it relates to bowings. How the player draws the bow across the string and how they use diff erent parts of the bow can change the sound produced dramatically. As a conductor, you will want to establish your own concept of orchestral sound. Understanding string bowing is essential to achieving the sound you want. Spend some time talking with the concertmaster of an orchestra near you and see what choices they make in bowing a part and why. Have them explain and demonstrate the basic concepts of bowing so that your ear will be familiar with the types of sound colors that can be produced. Percussion
Because this family of instruments is so diverse, it is useful to know more about the variety of instruments available. This is especially important if you conduct new music. More and more composers are expanding the list of what is considered a percussion instrument. A good reference book for clarifying percussion instruments is A Practical Guide to Percussion Terminology by Russ Girsberger. It is also worthwhile to spend some time with a percussionist and have them explain some of the peculiarities of their instruments, demonstrate specific playing techniques, and give examples of their favorite mistakes that conductors make. Other instruments
You will be most successful with your orchestral musicians if you are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their individual instruments. You should know what notes are difficult to play in tune, which tend to play sharp, which instruments play flat, and where the limits are for range, speed, and dynamics. Some of this can be learned from a basic orchestration book; other more specific details can be learned from speaking with orchestra members and asking them questions. By keeping their instrumental limitations in mind, you will not put your-
Beyond the Baton
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Beyond the Baton What Every Conductor Needs to Know
Diane Wittr Wittry y
1
1 Oxford Univer University sity Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’ University’ss objective of excellence in research, research, schol scholarshi arship, p, and education. education. Oxf xfoord New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexi xicco City Nairobi New Del Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright © by Oxford University University Press, Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University University Press, Inc. Madison Avenue, Avenue, New York, York, New York York www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University University Press All rights reserved. No part part of this publication may be reproduced reproduced,, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, electr onic, mechan mechanical, ical, phot photocop ocopying, ying, reco recording rding,, or otherwis otherwise, e, without the prior permission permission of Oxford University University Press. Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wittry Wit try,, Diane. Beyond the baton baton : what every conductor needs to know / Diane Wittry. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN- –––– ISBN ––– Conducting cting—V —Vocatio ocational nal guidance. guidance. I. Titl Title. e. . Condu ML.W .—dc
Printed in the United United States of America on acid-free paper
Acknowledgments A cknowledgments
Special thanks thanks to: The Gates Gates Family Foundation Foundation for their their ongoing support of enriching my knowledge; The Thyll-Dürr Thyll-Dürr Foundation Foundation for providing a wonderful place to write this book; The American Symphony Orchestra League for their Leadership Academ Academy; y; Ellen Rienstra and Steve Menke Menke for their tireless tireless eff orts orts in proofing and editing; editing; Cindy Ovens Ovens and Sue Kong Kong for their research; research; and Richard Peckham eckham,, my husband, husband, for the graphics, graphics, and for always always believing believing it could could be done. done.
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Contents
P ROLOGUE : SO—YOU WANT TO BE A CONDUCTOR ? IT STARTS WITH Y OU
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS
Formal Musical Training Character Development Choosing the Path
PATH TO THE PODIUM Interview: Leonard Slatkin, National Symphony Interview: Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Interview: JoAnn Falletta, Buff alo Philharmonic
YOUR FIRST JOB Getting the Job Negotiating the Contract First Year—Do’s and Don’ts Getting Organized
ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP Understanding Leadership Steps to Becoming a Successful Leader Thoughts about Artistic Vision
ARTISTIC PROGRAMMING Subscription Concert Programming Thematic Programming Pops Programming Educational and Family Programs The Overall Concert Experience
viii Beyond the Baton
THE PEOPLE FACTOR Working with People Implementing the Artistic Plan The Music Director’s Role with the Board Union and Orchestra Relations Rehearsal Techniques Developing Your Network
FUNDING THE ARTISTIC VISION Getting to Know the Numbers The Music Director’s Role in Fundraising Creating a Visible Presence in the Community
CLOSING THOUGHTS Keeping Your Competitive Edge Leaving a Legacy Epilogue
Resources
MUSIC ORGANIZATIONS
Networking Organizations Directories, Magazines, and Journals Internet Resources and Forums Artist Managers
MUSIC SOURCES
Standard Music Publishers Pops Music Publishers Library Special Collections
TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Summer Festivals and Workshops Conducting Competitions Grants and Residencies
PROGRAMMING R ESOURCES
Thematic Programming Lists Encore Lists Audition Repertoire Lists
Contents
SAMPLE CONTRACTS AND R ÉSUMÉ FORMAT
Music Director Job Posting Music Director Job Description Sample Guest Conducting Contract Sample Music Director Contract Sample Résumé
R ECOMMENDED R EADING
Music Books Leadership Books Organizational Books
PHOTO CREDITS
INDEX
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Beyond the Baton
