Alice Dancing Under the Gallows - Official Trailer

Please watch! It's a wonderful way to spend twelve minutes of your life, and you won't regret it! I did have some technical problems and seem to only get half a screen. If anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know.

And away we go!

GTCYS has kicked off our 39th season. My favorite memory from the first Symphony rehearsal:

We're sight-reading Wagner's Meistersinger Overture. Violins miss easy entrances. I tell them they must count through rests and nail entrances - no excuses. Violins miss more entrances. I tell the violins I meant what I said before. And that they're capable of doing better. And that they must do better...starting now. Violins look alarmed. We switch to Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Violins, figuring this guy's for real, count rests and nail difficult entrances. I'm happy, and let them know it. Violins look elated! When is a student's smile the warmest? When it's been earned!

A sweet New Year - for Everybody

I write this as the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah, approaches. The concept of a new year in the fall extends well beyond the Jewish world. Labor Day has come and gone, signaling the end of vacation season. Schools are beginning their fall semesters, and organizations like GTCYS gear up for a new year of their own. We all look forward with a sense of hope, perhaps a little nervousness, and hopefully a strong dose of optimism and good cheer. Wherever you are, whatever you undertake in the months ahead, may you experience good health, happiness and fulfillment!

9-11 and Music’s Power

I was recently asked to conduct this year’s 9-11 Memorial Concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell. (By the way, we could still use some violin and viola players, so please post a comment or send me a Facebook message if you’d like to participate in the all-volunteer orchestra.)

The concert features great American music like John Williams’ “Hymn to the Fallen” from the movie Saving Private Ryan, John Philip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis,” and Howard Hanson’s Second Symphony. I’m looking forward to this event, both because I love the music and because, having been in New York on September 11, 2001, I’m touched personally by it.

Please share your thoughts about music touching you (any kind of music). What is it about the music, or the event where you hear it, that causes a personal reaction? Ever had the experience that a formerly “boring” piece suddenly makes you cry, or that music that you’ve loved suddenly becomes dull? What’s the secret behind music’s power? Thanks for sharing!

Summertime - and the Living is Easy

Do you HATE being stuck indoors in the summertime? My current obligations, while often rewarding (for example, my wife and I just bought a house—very exciting!)

mean I hardly have much free time. Even when there is time to enjoy the great outdoors, what are the chances that’ll occur when it’s not overly humid or hot?

So it’s great when you can enjoy some music, AND do it outside in good weather. Tomorrow—Tuesday, July 20—GTCYS’ Summer Orchestras perform at the Como Park Pavilion in St. Paul at 7pm. I’m really looking forward to this because:

1)The kids have been working hard and are going to perform a great variety of music—from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony to Kool and the Gang.

2)The Pavilion is a perfect setting for summer music.


3)THEY’RE PREDICTING GOOD WEATHER! Highs Tuesday in the low 80s, with just a small chance of storms. Oh, and there’s a reception after the concert, so we continue the outdoors experience by coming together after the performance on the nearby lawn to enjoy some food and chat. What could be better?

Hope to see you there!

This time, it's YOUR turn!

I recently attended the League of American Orchestras annual conference, held in warm, sunny Atlanta. A lot of the talk concerned whether orchestras are still as relevant to today’s society as they used to be, and whether audiences feel like the orchestral experience is important or interesting. Rather than report much else, I’m just going to throw out a bunch of questions, and hope folks will respond openly.

Does it matter whether you hear music live or recorded? Why?

Do you go to orchestra concerts very often? Why or why not? What about other kinds of music?

What’s interesting about orchestra concerts? What do you find puzzling or frustrating?

Why do people have no problem buying tickets, food and parking for a Twins game, but not so for an orchestra concert?

When you go to concerts, do you feel connected to what’s happening on stage? Does it depend on the group you’re hearing?

If you’re a musician yourself, do you have a preference about playing vs. being in the audience? Why do you think that is?

Are orchestras going to matter in fifty years? Will they be around? What about theater, dance, museums, etc?

Send back those comments, folks! Let’s hear what you have to say. Don’t be shy!

End with a Bang – and then Keep Going

All six of GTCYS’ orchestras resonated in our Spring Festival concert on May 2 at Orchestra Hall. The young string musicians in Philharmonia started the concert with settings by Papini and Verdi. Sinfonia, Concertino, Concert and Philharmonic performed with verve and commitment. Near the concert’s end, the Symphony blazed through De Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, and then all 400-plus GTCYS musicians delivered a heartfelt rendering of “Jupiter” from Holst’s The Planets. This truly was the best Festival concert in recent years – and our success is the result of a lot of hard work and focused effort on the part of our students, staff, and conductors. This effort deserves a closer look.

GTCYS has been on a growth track for several years. Increased enrollment means more good players, and the positive buzz accompanying our growth impacts kids’ playing in a positive way. But it’s more than that. Being a student-centered program means holding young musicians to high standards. Even though presenting the Holst en-masse posed the logistical challenge of having musicians of all abilities spread throughout Orchestra Hall, I chose to begin the lyrical chorale portion with small gestures befitting the music’s character. I also insisted repeatedly on an intimate sound in rehearsal, despite the massive forces and the varying artistic abilities of the performers. The students rose to the occasion and played with striking unified musical expression, capping off a year of unparalleled musical growth and artistic achievement.

Next season promises to be even better. The kids are waiting to hear the results of their recent auditions. When they receive their placement letters, some students will be thrilled, while others will question why they didn’t fare better. At GTCYS, we believe in our kids’ potential for excellence. If a student is ready to shoot for it in the group of his or her dreams, that’s outstanding. If students are not ready to move up yet, they should commit to being the best leaders possible in whatever ensemble they’re placed – and aspire to excel in all respects. Because next season’s program will reach even higher.

Auditions?? Eek!

The word “audition” can give musicians the hives. To many it means something like “get nervous, perform badly, embarrass yourself, and get dissed":

To counteract that perception, we might ask ourselves what “audition” actually means. The answer? Simply a “hearing.” Auditions allow musical pros to hear you and determine if you’re right for a youth symphony like GTCYS, or a summer or college program, or a job. With May auditions coming up for GTCYS’ 2010 – 11 season, we recently hosted a masterclass for students to learn more about preparing for and getting through an audition.

L-R Masterclass Students Gabriela Ruiz-Colon & Lydia Sadoff

and Teachers Nina Olsen & Tanya Remenikova

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I asked Anders, a violist who played in the class a year ago and observed it from the audience this year, about experiencing the class from two different perspectives. Anders noted that playing in the class is a great way of preparing for an audition, since you’re afforded a dry run before the real event: “It's almost as if the performers in the masterclass get two chances to nail their solos and scales.” Anders also noted a special awareness he got from performing: “I think that performing last year made me empathetic toward the performers this year. I'm pretty sure all of the performers were nervous, and knowing that changed how I looked at their performances.” Anders also noted one particular message he picked up from last year’s class—the importance of good reading skills. Reading is essential for musicians, and even if we get by with mediocre reading skills, we get to a much higher level when we read well.

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Just as Anders benefitted from playing for mock judges before his real audition last May, I would recommend that anyone preparing for any kind of audition perform it several times in advance for different listeners. Even if the people hearing you aren’t professional judges, doing multiple performances helps you feel more settled when you’re in front of the real judges. And if you actually do a mock audition in front of professional musicians, well, in Anders’ words, that’s a “precious” experience.

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Just as having been in the hot seat made Anders more sympathetic to others’ nerves, so it is with judges who hear you play. Most are NOT Simon Cowell. While it’s their job to assess your playing honestly, they know about your nerves and view you, as someone trying out for a youth symphony, as a “work in progress.” So, if the judges are nice guys, does that mean you needn’t work hard for your audition? Not so. While most judges are personally kind to students who have a weak audition, they won’t place them in a program for which they don’t think the student is prepared. Luckily for students auditioning for GTCYS, our program covers the entire gamut, from elementary-level to highly advanced orchestras. Wherever they are in their development, there’s likely a place for them in the program.

Guests mix it up at Symphony

Over the last couple of weeks, several guest conductors have worked with the GTCYS Symphony on Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to the opera Der Freischütz. On March 15 Roberto Abbado rehearsed the composition, followed by Patrick Strub a week later.

Italian conductor Abbado, nephew of the former Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Claudio Abbado, came in bursting with energy and smiles. He praised the kids numerous times for sounding so good based on only one previous rehearsal. Abbado focused on musical shaping—an extra pause here, a heightened dynamic there, some added rubato (treating the pulse in a pliable manner). After rehearsing various spots, the orchestra ran the piece, experiencing both the satisfaction of improvement and the thrill of playing the entire overture under a pro.

Strub (pictured at left), who hails from Germany, made clear his high expectations from the moment he stepped on the podium, and through highly detailed work achieved a lot of technical and sonic improvements. Strub rehearsed passages painstakingly, constantly exhorting students to be aware of their sound quality and intonation and how to develop them for the better. The orchestra only got through part of the overture, but the advancement on the portion rehearsed was striking.

What did the students think? Violist Emma said, “It's always nice to hear feedback and advice from a different conductor – especially a world-renowned on, like Maestro Abbado (pictured at right). Meeting conductors like him pushes me to concentrate on everything in the written music, when I otherwise might not. Once he left, I realized I was still remembering the sound we had with him, and also the things he told us. As a result, I heard a great improvement in our sound and overall playing after he left.” Violinist Adam had some of the same sentiments about guests. “It’s interesting and fun to have someone new conduct. It affects us when we realize we’re being rehearsed by someone who regularly works with pros – we felt compelled to focus better. They knew what they were looking for. Maestro Strub was very technically focused, especially with the strings. Both experiences were very good, and I’d like to work with other guest conductors.”

Brahms and Strauss, Side by Side

What do Johannes Brahms and Richard Strauss have in common? The introspective Brahms tinted his music with autumnal sadness, looking back wistfully to admired compositional forebears. The brash Strauss colored his juicy harmonies with daring instrumentation and even asserted his self-confidence by titling an autobiographical composition A Hero’s Life.

But the two men had their commonalities as well. Both heirs of a profound German music tradition, they wrote works that have been stirring listeners’ souls for over a century. And they touched common ground last Monday afternoon, when the Minnesota Orchestra joined forces with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies and Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies for side-by-side rehearsals of Strauss’s Rosenkavalier Suite and Brahms’s First Symphony.

Excitement permeated Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis as kids walked in carrying instrument cases and music. Thrilled to play alongside the Big Boys, they were also nervous. Would they be able to hold their own, each student playing next to a seasoned vet? Happily both youth orchestras and the adults played well. They enjoyed working with Minnesota Orchestra Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis, a gifted musician and teacher who commanded excellence without sacrificing geniality. Courtney demanded care and style for every musical nuance. He emphasized the primacy of non-stop listening by the players and maintaining a solid group pulse.

GTCYS had its own regular rehearsal later that evening. While the kids had had a long day, they were also newly motivated to listen, keep a pulse and play expressively. One of them remarked on how inspiring it was to double up with folks who played every note like it mattered. I will close this blog entry by opening the floor to you, the readers. Those who were there at Orchestra Hall, what did you take away from the event? I’d love to hear from students, their parents, and the pros. And even if you weren’t there, or aren’t a musician, what think ye of the whole notion of student and teacher partnering up?

Sectional (not the furniture kind)

After a few weeks off for winter break, GTCYS orchestras are back at work. Rehearsals and sectionals are full steam ahead as we prepare for winter concerts. What’s a sectional, you say? A sectional is a rehearsal in which the full orchestra breaks up into smaller groups by instrument. It’s a chance for violins – or brass, or flutes – to work together on their own to resolve problems and perfect their playing without the distraction of the larger ensemble. Sectionals are usually led by a professional coach who’s an expert performer on a particular instrument.

People sometimes ask if I can play every orchestral instrument – and whether I need to! While I don’t play all instruments, I always try to learn more about how each works. I don’t play double bass, but understanding how it functions helps me as a conductor to know the technical challenges my double bass players face, and what I can demand from them musically. Even if a conductor could play each and every instrument at a virtuoso level, he or she wouldn’t have time in a full rehearsal to give every section the attention it needs. This is especially true for younger orchestras.

In professional ensembles, rehearsals focus on phrasing, sound quality, rhythmic accuracy and balance issues. Technique is important, but orchestra rehearsals aren’t primarily focused on how to play the instruments. It’s considered unnecessary – even insulting! – to give the players mechanical instructions.

Even when rehearsing rudimentary players, conductors should never focus solely on technical issues. Rehearsal time must always be devoted to musical issues, such as how to shape a phrase. Rehearsals that are all about mechanics are – well – mechanical, and they quickly destroy one’s enthusiasm for the glories of ensemble playing.

Here’s an admonition to present and future maestros: When doing the requisite mechanical work with a younger group, be careful to distinguish between what you know and what you think you know. Players want a knowledgeable conductor who is also unafraid to ask the strings “does this bowing work? or to confess to a perplexed flutist “I don’t know how to finger that mega-high C.” A conductor should make sure the flutes – and the strings, and the brass, and the double-bass players too – have the chance to work with a sectional coach to resolve those issues. Then, when full rehearsals recommence, the players have a stronger shot at giving their best technically—which supports the ensemble doing its best musically.