Baton down the hatches

Oct 19 2007
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Francine Schutzman
Francine Schutzman

Francine Schutzman, a native of Sea Cliff, New York, has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1974, playing second oboe and English horn. She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she received her BM degree under the tutelage of DeVere Moore, Paul Kramer and Wayne Rapier; and of the Manhattan School of Music (MM degree), where she studied with Robert Bloom and Alfred Genovese. Prior to moving to Canada, she played in the Savannah and Oklahoma City Symphonies, and she taught oboe, piano, music theory and music appreciation at Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Francine has been involved with the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) since 1981, first as a delegate from her orchestra and later as a board member, holding various positions. She became President of the group in August, 2003. She served as a member of the NACO orchestra committee for approximately ten years, and she has been a board member of the Musicians’ Association of Ottawa-Gatineau (Local 180, AFM) since 1994. She has been the Local President since January, 2004. In connection with her OCSM position, she serves as an ex-officio board member of Orchestras Canada. She is a proud dual citizen of the US and Canada, but her energies have been devoted mainly to the betterment of the status of musicians in Canada.

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I’m sitting now on a tour bus with a colleague, so I asked him what he thinks conductors can do to make our musical experience better. For him, it’s a matter of keeping things fresh, of not overplanning, of not making it obvious that you’re going to stop the rehearsal at a certain spot because you always do, and because you just might have a little story that you always tell at that very spot. For me, I am happiest when a conductor works things out rhythmically at tricky spots in rehearsal so that you really know all the pieces of the puzzle and how you need to fit in with the trumpets or the percussion. Once everybody understands what’s going on and who they need to listen to, the conductor is free to do things a bit differently in each performance if he wishes — to make it fun, as my colleague says, and to live in the moment.

As for how we can improve the relationship between orchestras and conductors, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they need to trust us. If a conductor shows the musicians that we’re making music together and that he respects what we’re adding to the mix, we will do our utmost to help him carry out his vision for the piece. I truly think that most orchestras do this already: they’re quite willing to keep an open mind for about 5 minutes or so, which seems to be all it takes to get the measure of the man with the stick. Perhaps we can help improve the relationship by stretching that time to half an hour or so.

About the author

Francine Schutzman
Francine Schutzman

Francine Schutzman, a native of Sea Cliff, New York, has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1974, playing second oboe and English horn. She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she received her BM degree under the tutelage of DeVere Moore, Paul Kramer and Wayne Rapier; and of the Manhattan School of Music (MM degree), where she studied with Robert Bloom and Alfred Genovese. Prior to moving to Canada, she played in the Savannah and Oklahoma City Symphonies, and she taught oboe, piano, music theory and music appreciation at Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Francine has been involved with the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) since 1981, first as a delegate from her orchestra and later as a board member, holding various positions. She became President of the group in August, 2003. She served as a member of the NACO orchestra committee for approximately ten years, and she has been a board member of the Musicians’ Association of Ottawa-Gatineau (Local 180, AFM) since 1994. She has been the Local President since January, 2004. In connection with her OCSM position, she serves as an ex-officio board member of Orchestras Canada. She is a proud dual citizen of the US and Canada, but her energies have been devoted mainly to the betterment of the status of musicians in Canada.

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