Baton down the hatches

Oct 09 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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In asnwer to our question for the first day: Hmmm… I can think of one thing: it would be great if all conductors could actually trust the musicians to play the music to the best of their abilities. I’ve often wondered what it is that makes an orchestra respond positively to one conductor and not another, and why some conductors have great results with one orchestra but not another. There’s that elusive factor of chemistry, usual apparent from the first five minutes of the first rehearsal. I like conductors who don’t waste time, but the single most important factor that draws me to a conductor is his/her trust in me (I will use the masculine from here on because of the statistical prevalence of males in the field, but please take my remarks to be inclusive of all conductors). If someone can indicate what he wants, look in my direction (it’s amazing how many conductors don’t acknowledge that a solo is coming up!) and nod or smile or do something that says “Okay, I’ve led you to this point; now it’s your turn to shine,” I will do anything in my power to make any suggested changes willingly. If someone tries to control every nuance, I will of course make the changes, but … um… not so willingly. I will probably not enjoy the experience.

Perhaps I can break this down into five smaller elements:

Dear Conductors:

1) Please have your parts marked before the first rehearsal. If there are cuts, they should be either on your own set of parts or given to our librarian well in advance of your visit. Don’t make us waste time marking our parts.

2) Please don’t talk too much. Use your hands. If you paid attention in your conducting classes, that should be sufficient.

3) Please look at me when I’m about to play a solo. Please don’t look at me if I make a mistake. That is, it’s okay to smile in such a way that I know that you trust me to get it right the next time, but it’s not okay to glare at me or to follow me around all week asking anxiously if I’m going to get the high note in the concert (this actually happened to me).

4) Please don’t be overcontrolling. We’re musicians, too, and we earned our positions in the orchestra. TRUST US.

5) Please be inclusive. If you have a remark to make to a section, make it to the whole section, not just the principal player by name (especially if the section has only two people in it). If you give solo bows (always nice), please include everyone who had a solo of some magnitude.

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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