Norfolk Academy: The other new adventure

Norfolk Academy

In addition to my new position as Principal Conductor of the McLean Youth Orchestra (MYO), I am equally fortunate to begin working with the orchestra programs at the Norfolk Academy (NA). While the MYO is more of what I have been doing all my life, at NA I am getting used to a newer angle to music education.

NA - Roystrings Orchestra

In orchestral training, young musicians very quickly get used to the rhythm of the process:  rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, concert. Within the rehearsal time, there are also consistencies that are easily grasped:  play, analyze, rehearse, change, play again, etc. The rate at which these elements occur changes from rehearsal to rehearsal, but basically the structure is the same. Then there are the dress rehearsal and performance(s); no surprises there.

In secondary schooling—especially in an independent, liberal arts setting such as NA—the approach is a bit different. The goal of rehearsing toward performance is the same, as are the raw mechanics needed to play an instrument and participate beneficially in an ensemble. However, the ultimate goal or reason for the students being there is transformed.

Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia

Certainly, the students are moved by the sounds, which is likely what inspires them to play an instrument in the first place. As well, they desire to produce a better product in performance than they were able to at the beginning of a rehearsal cycle. The difference is in the bigger picture:  music performance becomes one of many areas of interest. At this age (middle school through upper school), most have not decided what they want to do in life, nor is there any hurry to make such a big decision. They are still free to explore, test, manipulate, and enjoy any interest they might have. Surely, the age and situation of the members of a youth orchestra are the same as at NA. However, those that have chosen to participate in another music ensemble (i.e. Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia & Hampton Roads Chamber Players)—frequently in addition to their school ensembles—have indeed made a significant choice to engage further, both in time and effort. The liberal arts students' time is purposefully split to offer them a rich experience in many different areas.

Hampton Roads Chamber Players

"A lesson is a journey—
Knowledge is a landscape"

So, how does this impact ensemble studies? Rather simply:  the need for more metaphors. Metaphors are the bridge between abstraction and real life application. Since musical language is only descriptive of life, not concrete as in spoken language, metaphors can smoothly convey the "how" or "why" of music making.  Note, this is not a process of giving or telling a student what to play, but instead drawing on their own common experiences of life to show they already have the skills to produce a moving performance. (Here is a great illustration of this concept, excerpted from Teaching in Mind, by Judith Lloyd Yero) In a liberal arts setting, offering a bevy of metaphoric relationships between life and music can engage, excite, and excel the learning process. Additionally, it is a needed element to keep even a fraction of the students' focus as they bounce from one significant learning experience to the next all day long.

In a way, this setup does not necessarily allow for the deepest of musical exploration. It does, however, have the possibility of revealing a passion the student may not have known existed within them-self. Even in the absence of such a dramatic epiphany ("Performing music is the ONLY thing I want to do for the rest of my life!"), the metaphoric connection remains. The learning remains. The memory of being moved by a performance that the student participated in, remains. This is no small event. Music performance, and art creation of any kind, teaches us about ourselves. Being moved by art is the nature of being human, the very core of our differentiation from all other mammals. Truly, a wonderful reason to spend even the smallest amount of time practicing and listening.

Whereas in MYO we all come together in the pursuit of the highest musical experiences, at NA the orchestras are not going to have a "spit and polish" performance, nor is that really the goal. Instead, we seek greater self-awareness and enjoyment, above all else. And if along the way we chat with Tchaikovsky and jam alongside Led Zeppelin, all the better!

MYO: A new adventure

This Sunday, I have my first full rehearsal with the McLean Youth Orchestra! I am greatly looking forward to this new adventure.

Elise Favia
concerto competition winner

On our first concert (Saturday
December 14, 12:00pm at Oakcrest School) we will perform selections from the full Nutcracker ballet and the Bellini oboe concerto, with Elise Favia, the MYO Henrietta Anderson Concerto Competition Winner.

Choosing repertoire for any youth orchestra is tricky. Many aspects need to be considered regarding the members of the ensemble and the organization as a whole*:

• Overall technical level
• Individual technical level
• Organizational culture
• Individual character
• Capacity for improvement over short and long periods of time
• Musical style preference (to a limited extent)

*(N.B. I leave musical ability out of this list on purpose, as I focus the majority of my attention on developing that skill during rehearsal and performance. More on this subject in a later post.)

Most of these areas are easily defined the more time you spend with the students and organization. Even then, it can be difficult to predict the year ahead.

Then there are conductors like me:  newbies. I spent a fair amount of time getting to know my predecessor, Paul Kim (now at ODU), picking his brain for those intangible bits of insight a conductor gathers through rehearsal and performance. Though Paul's insight has been very useful, it barely scratches the surface of what is needed to program a season in the blind. So I did what every conductor learns to do:  learn everything you can and then... guess.

When new to an organization the most useful thing to consider is the organizational culture. So in this case, what direction do the leaders (both administration and parents) see the youth orchestra going in? Growing, improving, rebuilding? How do the key players in the organization's management approach barriers and problems that arise? What are the life goals and interests of the core student players? Certainly not an exhaustive list, but it starts the planning process.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Therefore, my arrival at programming Tchaikovsky's epic ballet as our first major project together was relatively easy, though not at all quick. 
MYO is certainly growing. This year alone there are many major changes, including schedule changes, rehearsal and performance re-location, and my arrival. The McLean Orchestra's Executive Director, John Huling, has to be the calmest one-man administration I have met so far in the orchestra business. For sure, he does not do the job entirely alone, as he would readily admit. However, in the words of Shakespeare

Henry IV

How many thousand of my poorest subjects
Are at this hour asleep! O sleep, O gentle sleep,
Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?...
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Henry IV. Part II 

NA Bulldog

All this to say, I have no worries about the growth mentality of the MYO. To my thinking, a growth mentality translates to a need for "judicious experimentation," as phrased in the philosophy and objectives of the Norfolk Academy (my other new adventure!).

Therefore, the two things to balance regarding repertoire selection are challenge and fun. My lifelong belief is that a deeply moving piece of music that is worth performing well will overcome a lack of technical ability. Furthermore, technical ability can and will be improved by focusing on the musical elements needed to produce a highly moving musical experience. Instrumental technique does NOT exist in a vacuum. Musical direction is the sole motivator for technique development.

So, Nutcracker seemed like a logical choice. Though this piece will test us greatly in the realms of individual technique and ensemble cohesiveness, I rest my decision on the inherent beauty and easy accessibility of the music. No matter the objective outcome of the performance, the difficulty of the piece will engage, excite, and educate all of us. In education, the perfection we seek is in growth. Better IS perfect.