NOTE: This story appeared in the November 2015 Choral Director Magazine and December 2015 School Band and Orchestra Director Magazine.
As soon as I saw my French horn section taking a nap outside the
auditorium, I knew we were in trouble.
It had been three long days in the theme parks, including a
parade performance that consumed much of an afternoon. Late nights taking in
every last ride and fireworks finale was beginning to take its toll. And now on
the day of our adjudicated performance that we had worked so hard to prepare
musically, the energies were starting to fade.
“Well,” I thought. “So Children’s March and Nimrod
are going to go really well
today.”
Fortunately,
the troops rallied. We somehow, somewhere, got a second wind, went onto stage
and performed wonderfully….ending up receiving first place in our division.
Deep down I knew we had dodged a bullet that could have shot down weeks of
preparation and deflated the confidence of the students in the wind symphony. I
had learned my lesson.
It's no surprise that bringing your ensemble to perform in a
quality festival experience can be an educationally rewarding opportunity for
musical growth. As a teacher, the ability to have your group perform and
receive feedback from experts in the field helps them improve as musicians and
helps you improve as a conductor--and usually reinforces the lessons you teach
from the podium every day!
Along with the musical preparation necessary for success, an
additional important ingredient to remember is to set a pace for the
performance day that will allow your group to be at its best. This means not
packing every moment of the day full of activities, but rather building a
lighter and more flexible schedule into the day. And while it may run
antithesis to common thought, you will likely find that it will make for a more
optimal experience in the long run.
Conventional wisdom usually falls into one or more of the
following camps:
All valid reasoning, but consider the following as well: your
musicians need to be in a condition (physically and mentally) to perform at
their best to avoid all your preparation being for nothing. That means they
need to have had adequate rest and arrive at the festival with sufficient time
to warm up, tune, and otherwise prep for the performance.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen groups arrive at a
festival (or clinic, or workshop, or rehearsal with a guest conductor) where
the students are in a "fog" or even beginning to nod off because they
have been running at such a breakneck pace since they arrived in the city and
are exhausted from getting little sleep combined with being "on the
go". This becomes magnified if your group is performing as part of a mass
ensemble (such as a bowl game performance or collaborative choir) and affects
the performance quality of fellow musicians who have also worked hard--and
often paid a substantial amount--for this opportunity. Now your sluggish and
seemingly unprepared or uncaring musicians are branded as "that
ensemble" for the duration of the event. Not a fun place to be.
Add to that the effect of "sensory overload" present in
some locations. Believe me, I love Times Square and theme parks as much as the
next person....but the constant lights, sounds and crowds are cumulatively
overwhelming. Throw into the mix doing this all while probably on a diet of
more fast food, snacks and caffeinated sodas than usual....even for teens. This
is where exhaustion can very quickly transform to sickness and take performers
out of commission.
Then there are the cases of the groups who arrive for their event
late due to unexpected traffic issues because they were squeezing in another
attraction. Or had "that one student" who got stuck in the museum
gift shop, or lost track of time, etc. The students leap off of the bus,
hurriedly grab (or toss) instruments and concert wear out of the bus bays and
go dashing to a warm up room while slapping a reed on a mouthpiece or
organizing their music....all while harried chaperones and directors are prodding
them to move quickly. Not exactly conducive to creating a memorable rendition
of a lush, serene Grainger work.
Being a parent
gives me a new perspective on this. You know those parents that you see at “X”
theme park? The ones who look like they’re on their last nerve, about to fall
over, with two kids under 10 in tow having the “meltdown to end all meltdowns”
due to missed naptime because they didn’t want to sacrifice having a
magical experience?
Yeah, this is you now. Except it’s performance time and you have to hit
the stage, not take everyone for Dole Whips.
This was me. Frazzled. Don't be this guy.
While you can't control the atmosphere of the city, and try as
you might you can't completely control when they actually go to sleep or what
they're feeding themselves, you CAN control the itinerary to make certain that
you're not setting the group up for failure. Just as much as you want to gain
the most "value" of your sightseeing time, don't overlook getting the
most value out of the cost of your festival experience.
Plus think of the ancillary advantages:
Having one or two fewer attractions might save
you some overall cost.
One of the things that we know is always good
for young musicians is to listen to other ensembles. Taking the time to sit in
the audience to listen to other groups in the festival is a great and usually
no-cost way to make this happen. (And, it teaches the importance of concert
etiquette and being an appreciative supporter of fellow musicians.)
It's always possible that one of the other
ensembles will perform a work your group is doing later in the year, or that
you're planning to introduce next season. Who knows....you might even hear a
new or unfamiliar work that will be perfect for your ensemble.
This will help you avoid having to deal with
possible schedule conflicts. The reality of most festival situations is that
for many and varied reasons performance schedules often can't be finalized
until closer to the date, or may change at the last minute. We all know there
are times when events unexpectedly run behind schedule. Setting up an admission
activity for that day could lead to losing funds that were spent on tickets
that will go unused....and the associated unnecessary stress.
Instead, plan flexible activities for the festival day that are
not dependent on a particular time--exploring parts of the city in chaperone
groups, seeing unique neighborhoods or parks or doing some souvenir shopping,
for example. Or simply take the time to hear some of your fellow performing
ensembles--they'll likely be grateful for having you in the audience, and maybe
will return the favor and stay for your performance. What a tremendous way to
build community.
Certainly you always want your musicians to have a fun and
memorable experience. However, you also want them to take full advantage of
these opportunities to have a performance that reflects the hours of
preparation you've dedicated (and the true quality of your program) or to
completely absorb the wisdom of a renowned clinician. A "less is
more" approach will usually lead to a quality over quantity result...and
allow you to keep the musical and educational focus that is critical to the
success of your program always at the heart of what you do.