Discovery

Whilst developing myself professionally as a lead 2nd violinist on a recent orchestral course (Amadeus Academy), I decided to organise a chamber music performance of Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto. Using my leadership skills developed over the course of my 2nd MMus year [1,7] I was able to encourage 26 musicians to collaborate (for free!) and learn the 2nd movement over a 3-day period in the run up to an informal performance.

At the time of the recording, I didn't consider that this performance would be part of my portfolio. If I knew at the time - I would have prepared my introductory talk more carefully and dressed up accordingly for a 'masters' recital. But given the 31 degrees heat in the south of England at the time, it was a wise decision to be comfortable whilst conducting.

One challenge that I faced in the run up to rehearsals was learning how to approach rehearsing the harp and developing my knowledge of the instrument before attempting to conduct the piece. The young harpist was limited in learning the fast triplet figures in the time available - but we both agreed that missing out the triplets but keeping in time and key was more important. The flautist had considerable experience performing the piece, so I felt collaboratively it was best to leave him to his interpretation of the flute part whilst I focused on merging the harpist's interpretation of the piece with mine.

Thanks to my experiences in working with the University of Surrey's String Orchestra for the past four years, I felt at home rehearsing and conducting stringed instruments. I feel able to lead a group of musicians confidently through my interpretation of the piece, whilst being open-minded to the whole process. There is a tricky balance between not letting 26 musicians take over the musical interpretation and allowing some collaborative agreements to take place. This small rehearsal excerpt is an example where I was able to handle this well - where a player suggested a different bow stroke to what I planned in order to fit into stylistic classical norms. A good example of direct negotiation in an interactive interaction between conductor and performer. (Hayden et. Windsor, 2007) [5]

Throughout my studies, I've been told that when performing in low stake situations - I should focus on one specific skill of conducting and aim to show it in the performance. At the time of the performance, I was focusing on showing musical line by breaking the traditional beat patterns that are taught in standard conducting textbooks. Because the piece remained in a straight-forward time signature, it meant I could experiment with moving beats to different spatial positions. One example of this in my performance was producing circular beats at the start, where bigger circles (coming away from the body) would suggest a lean in the line. This was inspired by conductor Ilya Musin and was particularly effective in encouraging the ensemble to breathe together. [7]

Because of my expertise within this field - I feel confident in providing reactive musical instruction based on the live impetus of the players in a concert situation. One particular example of this occurred at 5:20 (in the performance) when the quality of sound produced by the cellos didn't quite match the oeuvre of Mozart. A change of gesture on the next crotchet encouraged them to play with poise and to blend with the ensemble. These quick reactions have only been developed by the amount of time I've spent working with developing string players over the years. If anything, working with players who are more prone to making mistakes has been of greater benefit to me, than working with professional musicians when it comes to developing my reactive conducting skills. [7]

On reflection, I adored working with such a large ensemble and especially with the harp. The instrument has a unique ethereal quality and is sometimes neglected within a composer's field due to the intricacies required to compose for it.

After expanding my musician network at the course, I was able to get in contact with two new harpists - one of whom was interested in recording new compositions. This was the light-bulb moment that was needed at this point. A portfolio that explores a new instrument that I'm not familiar with and showcases my polyglot skills - a perfect combination.

References:

Hayden, S. and Windsor, L., 2007. Collaboration and the Composer: Case Studies from the End of the 20th Century. Tempo 61/240: 28-39.