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.” 
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