Earlier I posted a singer's reaction, posted on her blog, to a conductor's audition. Now another conductor has auditioned, and here is her reflection. (Each conductor rehearsed and performed with the group.)[conductor] was providing positive reinforcement throughout the entire performance and was giving off this tuned-into-the-music but zoned-out-of-reality kind of vibe. That is always a good sign. I felt that the choir was really connected to [conductor] and that we were working collaboratively with him to musically emote what he was showing us. He forewarned us in rehearsals that the things we were practicing would not be the same on the day of the performance. Since nothing was over-rehearsed, it allowed us the flexibility to provide an organic performance. We just worked the music to a secure level and [conductor] took us the rest of the way during the concert….
One thing that was really refreshing was that, during the performance, [conductor] would look at individual singers and cue them to sing out more. This is exactly what it was like during the rehearsal process and it was nice to continue to get that individualized cue during the concert itself. It's hard to know what the choir sounds like as a whole from a choristers' acoustic perspective so it's appreciated when we can get such specific online feedback while we are singing. With other conductors, it's more generalized gestural desires like adding a crescendo here or there, but [conductor] focuses in on exactly who and what he wants.
I've been known to gesture to an individual to get them to sing less, because they're sticking out, but finding the singer who needs to sing more is a real challenge.
(Pictured: Leonard Bernstein, definitely not the conductor being described.)
John Howell says