One Sound Alone
Have you ever wondered how it might feel to play the timpani, cymbal,
triangle, or other percussion instruments in an orchestra? Those
instruments, all the way in the back of the orchestra, may seem far from
the conductor and the audience, yet surely you will have noticed them.
Perhaps you wonder: how hard can it be? Let me frame it this way: if you
have ever heard a poorly played percussion sound—a sound too loud, too
early, or too late—you know that one sound alone can deflate a musical
atmosphere. But with this experience comes the realization of how
powerful percussion sounds are. What else can alone overpower eighty
musicians playing at full force? For a percussionist, every note is a
solo, every sound is a spectacle. A well-placed cymbal crash can
energize the whole orchestra, a beautiful triangle roll can make the
music sparkle like nothing else (that’s why we have the triangle!), and
to control the pulse of a concert hall with the stroke of your drum is
an intense, intoxicating experience. As a percussion section, we
understand that with this power comes the responsibility to prepare each
note with great care and insight and love for the music. And for me as a
coach, there is nothing greater than to see our young percussionists
develop the technical and musical skill and the sensibility, maturity
and joy to assume that awesome responsibility.
Florian Conzetti, Percussion Coach