ORCHESTRATING LIFELONG PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS
September 2022Vol. 23 No. 1
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FROM SCORE TO MUSIC Dear SOGO community, As summer nears its end, SOGO is gearing up for the 2022-2023 season. I can’t quite believe it; I thought summer was just beginning! July was a particularly busy month for SOGO, as we held our annual week of SOGO Summer Music July 18-22. It was a rousing success, including a couple of new classes that we were able to offer this year, as well as a side-by-side performance with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra at Heritage Park on July 23. We are grateful to the OSO for the opportunity to perform with them, and we anticipate another side-by-side performance with the SOGO Conservatory Orchestra later this season. Stay tuned for that – no spoilers! During Summer Music we offered a conducting class. For a first-time offering, we had a decent turnout, and I spent the first day walking the students through my score study process and everything a conductor must do before the first rehearsal. Mrs. Allison thought this would be interesting enough to share with you, so here is a brief overview of how I get from score to music. When programming for a SOGO season, I start by looking at the season as a whole and thinking about what pieces would be the best fit for this year’s students. I then package those pieces into programs that will be enjoyable for the audience and realistic for the orchestra to prepare in seven or eight rehearsals. The season usually goes through several drafts before it is finalized. Auditions are a big determining factor, as this is my best chance to evaluate what incoming students will be able to handle. Collaborative projects involving artists outside SOGO must also be considered. When these opportunities arise, they become pillars that I program around.
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Once the programming is set, my next step is to learn the music myself, and summer is my best opportunity to do this. There is some standard repertoire that I have conducted or studied in the past, but I also try to include new or lesser-known works, many of which I have not performed before. One of my mentors likes to say that, for a conductor, “the first rehearsal is your performance.” So, all my personal preparation must happen ahead of time, so that I am able to lead the musicians effectively. I have my own lengthy process for dissecting a score that involves analysis, research, and creating flow charts. My personal goal for a first rehearsal is to be able to conduct through each of the pieces without looking at the score. That doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it gives me a feeling of security and helps me focus more attention on what the students need to play their best. Like positions of leadership in other industries, the nature of being a conductor involves thinking in multiple timelines simultaneously. In my case, at any given time I am learning scores for a future cycle, marking and copying parts to distribute to the musicians, making a plan for the next rehearsal, and watching recordings of previous rehearsals to determine whether my conducting and verbal instructions to the musicians are coming across the way I intend them to. And all of this, of course, happens outside of Sunday afternoons. We’ve got a great season of music to share with you this year! Watch this space for more information about each of our season concerts. I’ll see you in November at the newly-renovated Washington Center!
Cameron May SOGO Music Director STUDENT ORCHESTRAS OF GREATER OLYMPIA
LEAD • INSPIRE • PERFORM •
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