Conducting class is a Hoot!

posted by:David

Hey everyone, it's David again. Today was a really good day, even though spring break is officially over. Classes ran smoothly. Contemporary Trends was great because we got to listen to "minimalist" music with lots of repetitions of small phrases of music. One such example was "Piano Phase" by Steve Reich. This is a two piano piece with a phrase of about eight notes that get repeated over and over again with slight tempo changes in one of the piano parts, creating complex rhythms and melodic effects. It's a really crazy concept, but I have to say it kept my interest, even though my ears were about to bleed from the repetition of the same notes at least twenty times in a row!

There are only a few more days before we get to rehearse the Berlioz' Damnation of Faust with the NY Philharmonic. This will be great. I'm actually excited because our choir is sounding a lot better now that the time is getting closer to our performances. I think everyone gets a little more excited and puts in more effort when the time draws near.

Conducting class was great as always. Dr. Jordan is a hoot! We conducted on the Swiss Exercise Balls and used our maracas to conduct marcato 4 and 3 beat patterns. We're getting into complicated techniques, such as... using BOTH hands to conduct! (I know, it sounds really easy, but to me, it's hard!) We talked about Laban technique and how dancers and conductors use the same principles for movement. This was quite an interesting class!

That's all for now. I'll be writing again soon!