Great Expectations

There have been a few key issues brought up that interest me. I am very curious to see what others have to say on the following issues:

1) Education:

I completed my Bachelor’s degree at a large state school. No matter what your degree, you were required to complete a certain number of core classes in many different fields. The idea was that no matter where you end up, you should have an idea of the world around you. Furthermore, it is IMPOSSIBLE to teach an individual everything they are going to need to know to succeed in their career, so by teaching students a variety of subjects, schools create well rounded members of society that are more adequately equipped to face whatever comes their way.

The Eastman school places a higher emphasis on performance but still expects their pupils to excel in all areas of music. There are those that say that to be an orchestral player, you must first win an audition. Academic classes take away time and energy from the student’s practicing. Once you have a job, it is a much different story, but in order to obtain a job, you must be able to play at a very high level, and not much else.

Where should the balance be???

2) The awkward time between graduating and landing a job

Do you all have any advice for those of us that are coming close to finishing our education? What are some of the things you did to stay motivated and keep yourself sharp?

3) The relationship between player and podium

As a conducting student, this is an issue that I spend a lot of time contemplating. With a limited amount of rehearsal time, it is crucial that the orchestra be unified. This is one area where a competent conductor can be of service, as well as an incompetent one. You see, when the orchestra decides that they guy/gehl waving a stick is unqualified (this should take about 1.5 seconds), they ignore him and play together like the well-trained musicians they are. They are together amongst themselves whether he/she is involved, but the point is that they are together…right? A good conductor, when the orchestra trusts them, can motivate the players to give his/her ideas a try, and if they are working, the ensemble can get increasingly tighter, and great music will be the result.

The more the players have a chance to give input into musical decisions, the more they can take ownership of their product. This will provide a better sense of community, improve the working environment, and over time can produce stellar results. A conductor would be doing a disservice to the organization if he/she ignored valid input from talented musicians, but the exchange of ideas (unless done without dialogue) during rehearsal will eat up too much precious time. It seems to me that if a conductor makes it clear that he/she is open to ideas when voiced at appropriate times, this can be accomplished. Would players take that opportunity???

Any ideas?

Let’s see what number are we on???
Oh yes

4) James (Dean) Undercofler

Mr. Undercofler!!! You will be missed greatly at Eastman. Congratulations from myself and my peers on your new appointment; we are excited for you. You are one of those people that when brought up in conversation, (and that happens often) you are raved about. I am not aware of too many administrators that are as widely respected and admired as you. Thanks for all you’ve done here.