Last night we went into LA. Our plan was to go to Pershing Square and go ice skating. People had suggested to us that ice skating there was so much fun. Unfortunately, we are from the midwest. And "fun" ice skating means a much bigger rink with less people than what they had at Pershing Square. Plus, you had purchase a ticket to ice skate for an hour. And the only time left when we arrived at 6:45 last night was to skate from 9-10 PM. So, we opted out. We walked up to Disney Hall to see what was happening up there. Esa-Pekka Salonen was conducting his own piece, the Schumann piano concert (soloist David Fray), a Lutosławski piece for orchestra and baritone (soloist Gerard Finley), and Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini (symphonic poem). The music was great (I admit- I love most German music). But I just loved watching Salonen conduct.
We were in seats behind the orchestra, so we were able to watch Salonen conducting the orchestra. It was amazing to see him. He was very intentional about everything he conducted. He was so clear. There was no fluff or show in his gesture. It was all specific to the music. He only showed what was needed. For example, there were 4 large chords in a row. And all he showed was the downbeat. A huge downbeat. And then orchestra responded. No need to beat time in between or do anything. There was another time he cued the percussion (it was some pitched percussion instrument) and he cued them high and then traveled down through the space in front of him to lead them through their pitched descent. It looked a little bit like an 80s rock move.
We loved the concert. It was such a great impromptu decision.
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My Adult Bell Choir is ringing on the 23rd and Christmas Eve. In both cases, the last 2-3 measures just contain half notes and whole notes and descresendo to a p or pp at the end. I just give a prep for every note and see how small my gesture can be. No one is looking at their score and everyone is breathing together. It's a really wonderful moment.
With regards to unions, I wish we could follow Germany's model. In Germany, more people are in unions and the relationship between owners and unions aren't as acrimonious as they are in the States.
Tomorrow I have the first rehearsal with the women's chamber choir at school that I'm starting. I'm very excited. Right now, there are 6 members, but next year I anticipate having 8-12. Hopefully in two years, there will be 16-21 singers.
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