It was a huge treat that I got to conduct an ensemble, since opportunities when starting out as a young conductor are very scarce and hard to find. But, it was an amazing experience to work with musicians again and lead them to what was a pretty successful concert. Mr. Meyer and I had an interesting talk about what I was doing in this video of the performance that I put down below. He suggested that sometimes, there were moments where I was conducting them like a symphony orchestra and not like more of a band, since these players mostly have wind instruments. For example, as a band director, one has to be more precise and strict about the beat, while leading a symphony orchestra or even just string instruments, one can be more lenient about the beat. Now, this is not to say that string players need to lead themselves for beats or that they do not have to play together, but there is a difference between playing a instrument with a bow than with air or a mallet, and that’s just how pieces are written for them. In this piece, called “Fanfare for the Third Planet,” it is much more exact than a lyrical symphony movement by Mozart. Mr. Meyer said that my best work was starting from the time stamp 1:45 to 2:25, where I became much more strict in my beat and clearer in my cues. One more problem that we covered was the use of the left hand, as the section after that middle one, I started doing two-hand conducting, which refers to when both hands are conducting the beat. Now, this can be an effective technique, but in these long held notes, I could have been doing something else with my left hand that would direct them to firmly sustain those notes. Overall, Mr. Meyer was extremely pleased with my work, and that I will take as an accomplishment! When watching this video, please be respectful of these players; it may not sound like an upscale group, but they did put a lot of hard work into the rehearsals leading up to the concert.
Dec 19