ForrestWorks

Another rewarding day today- first, I spent time with the Advanced Conducting class, pulling together all sorts of different facets of musicianship- i.e. stylistic analysis, critical analysis, turning a phrase, melodic contour, pitch collections, rhythmic subtleties, balancing metric feel vs. long-breathed line, and who knows what else- all these things, I propose, play a part in the informed decisions an interpreter (i.e. conductor, in the case of this morning’s class) must make, as they seek to look “beyond the page” to truly Making Music.

Then, I worked with Schola Cantorum on some of their pieces for Friday’s concert. I got to accompany (which I love doing), and we had some really wonderful music-making. The Nocturnes are coming together beautifully…and our collaboration on You Are The Music today resulted (after the last chord died away) in a choked-up Dr. John Yarrington- a response which I relish as one of the highest of compliments, and one of the surest signs of true music-making having taken place.