Eph Ehly on Conducting Music Festivals

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Eph Ehly on Conducting Music Festivals 35/1011H Eph Ehly on ConduCting MusiC FEstivals ContEnts About this Resource ........................................................................................................................ 2 Getting Started ................................................................................................................................ 2 Philosophy ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Leading Rehearsals .......................................................................................................................... 4 Programming ................................................................................................................................... 8 Six Basic Fundamentals ................................................................................................................... 9 Festival Preparation Checklist ........................................................................................................ 14 About the Author ........................................................................................................................... 16 Editor: Kate Dickey McEwen • Type Design: WordStreamCopy © 2012 Heritage Music Press, a division of The Lorenz Corporation. P.O. Box 802, Dayton, OH 45401. www.lorenz.com. All rights reserved. 1 about this REsouRCE “How does one get invited to conduct music festivals?” I have been asked this many times. It’s a good question, but it has no simple answer. After participating in more than 600 music festivals, I’m happy to share some observations I have made and lessons I have learned. A detailed text on the subject of conducting music festivals could easily fill many volumes, so my aim instead is to offer a brief and informal resource for both the novice and the experienced conductor. Within this resource you will find suggestions for leading rehearsals and programming festival concerts, as well as an outline of the six basic fundamentals of singing and my philosophy of music and teaching. It is my hope that this information will aid you in your endeavor to become a successful music festival conductor. gEtting staRtEd How does one become a festival conductor? Every festival is different, and festival organizers have a varied set of criteria they must consider when selecting a conductor. The highest consideration is most likely given to the conductor who has great success with his or her own ensemble. While this may not guarantee that the conductor will be equally successful with a festival ensemble, it is often the catalyst for an invitation. If you wish to be invited but do not have enough name recognition, I suggest visiting a local school, church, or community ensemble and volunteering to conduct a brief clinic. Most direc- tors would welcome the reprieve from their normal routine. This provides you with an opportunity to hone your skills and build a strong reputation. Once invited to conduct a music festival, it is imperative to make a good first impression…as well as a second and a third! Assuming that there is evidence of good musicianship and a masterful teaching methodology, the following are the most important suggestions that I have for success- ful festival conducting. 2 philosophy Philosophy determines action; actions confirm philosophy. Every conductor follows a philosophy, whether or not that philosophy has been written down or even thought out. The conductor who hasn’t thought about it may well be following conflicting philosophies and not realizing his or her full potential for success. Read on for a few of my per- sonal philosophies about music, ensemble, and teaching. A positive attitude is essential for creating an exciting and memorable musical experience. Music allows us to go where we cannot go physically. Music is a re-creation and recreation of the imagination. Music is the image of heaven and earth in sound. It is much more than a mere vehicle for enter- tainment. Its primary purpose is to express, and it can express every human emotion from the depths of despair to the heights of ecstasy. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then music is worth 1,000 pictures. Ensemble is a reflection of how we should live—in harmony with one another, working together for the greater good, and treating others as we wish to be treated. Why we select a certain piece of music and why we learn to express ourselves through music is more important than how. Search for what is not in the score. The score is merely a map, and the performance is the desti- nation. The journey (rehearsal) is the campground for learning. Good teachers spend most of their time teaching good basic fundamentals. Only teachers can take the dignity out of teaching; only teachers can restore the dignity to teaching. Good teachers stimulate thought; weak teachers give directions. Do more teaching, less directing. Stress more learning, less performing. 3 A festival conductor’s responsibility is to build confidence, not destroy it. One cannot claim to know a thing unless he or she can explain it in simple terms. Therefore, keep it simple. Time is precious. Stop teaching music to people; start teaching people through music. lEading REhEaRsals Concentrate on the essentials. It’s not always a matter of what to do in rehearsal, but more often a matter of what to leave out. With much to address and little time to address it, the instruction in a festival rehearsal must be concise and to the point. Conducting a festival ensemble is an experience that differs from conducting one’s own ensemble in a number of ways: ✦ There is less time for rehearsal ✦ Rehearsal pacing/procedure needs to be accelerated ✦ Participants are usually not as familiar with the conductor or each other ✦ Programming and repertoire should support the festival’s purpose ✦ Expectations for results are more immediate Remember, everyone wants to do a good job. If they aren’t doing it, it’s because they don’t know how. Rehearsals should be informative, inspirational, and entertaining. a FEw EssEntial dos and don’ts Do: be yourself! It sounds simple, but for some it isn’t. All conductors imitate to a certain degree. We emulate our teachers and those we admire. And, often without realizing it, we imitate the colloquialisms around us. 4 To be a more effective conductor, be honest about your own personal convictions, feelings, and emotions. Make an effort to: ✦ Share your personal enthusiasm for the subject at hand ✦ Maintain your sense of humor ✦ Demonstrate your sense of justice (e.g. reward the right and admonish the wrong) Do: conduct your imagination! Where does music originate? In the “inner ear,” within the halls and memories of the mind. (It’s where Beethoven first heard his music before he wrote it down and even after he became deaf). Review the music in your mind before stepping on the podium. What you hear in the inner ear should be near to perfection. Conduct the music you hear within your inner ear, not that which feeds into the ear from the out- side. What feeds into the ear from the outside is more often imperfection. Imperfect music from the outside has destroyed many a conductor’s technique. The huge and grotesque gestures one occasionally observes are usually a sign of desperation. Erratic gestures create a domino effect of problems within the ensemble. The conductor who insists, “But I need an ensemble to conduct!” is one who practices conduct- ing in front of the group. The good conductor prepares in advance, and that can only be done by conducting what’s found in the imagination. Poor performance causes desperation; desperation causes poor conducting technique; poor technique causes even worse performance. Do: be sensitive to physical needs. Check and adjust ventilation. Too much heat or cold affects performance. Encourage participants to drink water during rehearsals. Allow frequent restroom breaks. In case of an emergency, stop the music. It’s ridiculous to continue performing while the audience gasps for a person collapsing on stage. Surely, a human life is more important than the performance. 5 Do: be predictable. Be predictable with regard to your behavioral expectations. Insist on doing it the right way. Be predictable in giving clear and concise directions. Always follow the same procedure for identifying where you wish to begin. For example, call out the page number, rehearsal letter or measure number, voice or instrument part, and pitch, and then quickly begin. Say, “Top of page five, measure two, tenors’ B flat,” give the pitch, take a breath on the preparatory beat, and conduct. Don’t: be predictably boring. Always rehearsing each piece from beginning to end becomes predictable. That kind of predict- ability breeds boredom. Vary the rehearsal procedure. Rehearse fundamentals by skipping from one piece to another. For example, say, “Notice the similarity of phrasing in these three pieces? Let’s practice this technique in each of the different pieces.” Hold the performers’ attention and interest by moving quickly from one piece to another. Boredom is the chief cause of the decline in good behavior. Don’t: compromise the music. Try to get the music that feeds into your ears from the outside to match the music you hear on the inside. This may not always be possible, but it’s an important goal. To achieve this, encourage and command. For example, when you wish to sustain the music un- der a fermata and the performers collapse, don’t give in. Try again and encourage them to strive
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