Using musicians instruments or as partners?

Lead Like the Great Conductors

This TED Talk made a lot of sense to me.

Having played music for about 20 years now, I have had a fair number of conductors to work under. Even the language we use (such as work under) implies quite a lot about our role in an orchestra, or any other type of ensemble which has a conductor.

The main message from Maestro Talgam is that no matter how much control you have over your musicians, real success can only come from working with musicians as partners in musicking.  I have to say that from the other side of the podium in the orchestra this is critical in my approach to playing. Though I try to always play as musically and as accurately as possible, I do have to say that if a conductor completely disregards my thoughts or ideas about a piece, I am much less likely to be cooperative.  Even to acknowledge my input (whether it is the "right" interpretation or not) will give me a sense of ownership over the music we are playing.

To take my experience and move to the conductor's podium is a little scary though. Becoming a teacher who is not only "on" during class, but also in the spotlight during so many rehearsals is a little daunting.  I am sure it is easy to get caught up with worrying about learning scores, figuring out how to encourage students to attend all rehearsals, and just learning the notes.  How to move from there to the concert with an approach that works in partnership with students is quite a challenge (at least in my mind).

Questions that arise:
How do I get to this stage of respect with the musicians I'm leading?
If less is more, how to we go from showing everything with our conducting to drawing it out of our musicians of their own accord?

The Beginning of my Journey

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Genevieve and I have not had my own blog before, so I'm excited and a little apprehensive about the whole thing. The purpose of this blog is to facilitate my learning as a musician-teacher in pursuit of advancing my choral and vocal experience.  I'm in my first year of the music education program at Memorial University of Newfoundland. My first degree is a Bachelor of Music from the University of Prince Edward Island and my major (as you may be able to tell in my picture) was the tuba.

I have some experience teaching as a substitute teacher in P.E.I. (where I grew up) and so I feel as though I know what some school programs are like; however, my home province does not have nearly as rich a choral community as that of Newfoundland.

My first choral experiences were in elementary school, with a mixed children's choir.  I remember enjoying singing, but by grade 7 I was participating in the band program in junior high, and our intermediate- and high-schools didn't have any choirs at the time I was there.  The title of my blog comes from singing tenor in my first year of university, where we didn't have very many men, and my low notes were envied by many. The next year I moved to alto, when we had a few more fellows to sing the lower parts, and I though I continued to sing for three or four more years in that university choir, I feel as though I have never really gotten to develop my "girl" voice as an adult. Basically I was singing mostly in my chest and the break in my voice was at about the same spot as the guys (around G-A), and my friends who were voice majors tried to help but (lovingly?) laughed a little at my struggle to find the sweet spot, where I didn't feel like a teen boy with a cracking voice. Thankfully I was not too sensitive and was able to continue singing without having too many self-conscious feelings.

I am excited to further my skills and gain some experience in the realm of all things choir-related. I welcome your feedback and comments on any post, and please feel free to share this with others who would like to participate in any discussions! The more the merrier.