THE IMPORTANCE OF REHEARSALS AND COMMITTING MUSIC TO MEMORY
After 5 years with The Conductor's Circle, directed by Mr Kevin Field, it was my debut in orchestral conducting.
Bach's Air on the G String is a famous piece, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to conduct an "easy piece" where I was able to manage it from start to finish in terms of musical expressions, conducting gestures and working with orchestra members. However, the ritardando at the end of the music took me 1 week to figure out.
It reminded me that almost every newly trained classical singer must learn "Caro Mio Ben", which I learned in my first year. "Singing simple music is hard," I told my accompanist. At that time, I couldn't get all the details straight. For Air on the G String, I got all the details I wanted.
I tasked myself with conveying every musical expression and committing the music to memory. Compared to other pieces I learned in the lesson, this music is very singable. For this piece, I can do the same as I did for the harder pieces. When I can sing parts outside the melody, I will be more familiar with what other musicians do.
For those who are unfamiliar with the role of conductors. The performance we see on stage is just the result of the process. What's more important are the other steps before the show.
I was given 3 regular rehearsals and 1 dress rehearsal. Unfortunately, I fell sick and missed one of the regular rehearsals.
When the first note was played by the ensemble in the performance, I remember standing right in front of them and listening to how pure and collected the first note came out.
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