Wednesday night I went to the dark side of the orchestra–located in front of the strings and behind a baton. Specifically, I conducted PYP’s string section in the opening of the third movement of shosty 5. Leading up to this was plenty of studying/analyzing of the score as well as practicing by conducting along to recordings (by the way, it’s an absolutely amazing piece). The first difficulty of this piece is its slow tempo: 50 beats per minute–slower than a resting heart-rate (and since I was nervous, it would have been about a third of mine). A second point of difficulty is the unusual division of the string section in this movement of the symphony, the violins which are normally in two groups are, as a whole, divided into three sections leading to some uncertainty on my part as to who would be playing which part — i.e. the movement begins with the third group. The music also begins on a weak beat of the measure: on “two,” meaning “one” is actually a preparatory beat. Those were some of the “technical” aspects of conducting going through my mind as I went up in front of the orchestra. But picking up the baton and diving into the first bars of the piece was something I couldn’t have really prepared for. The first thing I realized was just how far INTO the orchestra the conductor stands; to see the first violin or viola desk I’d have to turn 90º to the side: I originally visualized conducting to be a sort of disembodied omnipresence. I was also IN the orchestra in a sense of being SURROUNDED by the music. The first real “forte” felt like a tsunami around me (I think I may have had to hold back an evil giggle of power at that point). Luckily I had training wheels named Mr. Hattner and Mr. Muñoz behind the orchestra, helping me out. They helped bring my mind back to the some of the finer technical points I mentioned earlier and had several additional suggestions. The first point was I should show a more ‘legato’ beat, with less emphasis on the ictus. Tito compared a good legato motion to the feeling of conducting underwater. Afterwards they both discussed with me the subject of a good grip on the baton and posture in general such as the position of my elbows and shoulders. After all, conducting is the art of leading ~100 musicians entirely through body language.

John S. Caughman V, tuba, PYP

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I’m now back in Cleveland after spending a week visitng my very dear friend David Hattner and working with the wonderful and talented musicians of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. This organization never ceases to amaze me, not only with the level of talent in the ensembles, but also the fabulous and incredibly nurturing staff that help make PYP such a flourishing organzation.

I spent a great deal of time working with PYP in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, first with the full orchestra on Monday, and then with just the strings on Wednesday.We worked a lot on the basics of orchestral playing… most importantly, rhythm! The key to great ensemble playing is having a good personal sense of rhythm. Working at home with a metronome is certainly tedious, but the rewards are so great. It’s always interesting for me to be able to hear where some musicians had not done that type of homework… it’s actually very easy to hear! Having that pulse inside of you all the time is such an important ingredient to great musicianship. There’s just no way practicing it, as annoying as it might seem.

We also worked on sound quality, and finding different ways to create a palette of colors, especially with the strings (not everything has to be in first or third position!). I also spoke about bow division… how important it is to always know how much bow you are using for each note. This was especially apparent in the “Habanera” theme, first in the violins at rehearsal 9 and then in the violas at rehearsal 15.

I also very much enjoyed working with a student conductor; the brave John Caughman, who is also PYP’s talented tuba player. It was his first time leading an orchestra, and it certainly brought me back to my very first time working with a large group of musicians. It can be a very scary ordeal, but John was well prepared and the musicians really gave their all for him. You can learn so much by having that kind of experience, having to be completely responsible for an ensemble’s momentum.

I worked with John on some basics of body language, specifically on conveying the right mood to an orchestra within each beat. He conducted the slow movement of the Shostakovich, and at first he seemed a little too worried about making sure each beat was accounted for. So we worked on trying to smooth it out, let go of some tension in the shoulders, and to trust the orchestra. They are great musicians, and it can be surprising (especially the first time on the podium) how well they can stay together without having to be a metronome for them. But that means that the possibilites are infinte in what a conductor can communicate to them.

It was certainly a wonderful learning and growth experience for everyone, including me. I enjoy teaching very much, and when you have such talented and motivated students as PYP, it makes it all the more rewarding. I can’t wait until my next visit!

Bravo to all!

Tito Munoz

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