Michael Wu is on the faculty at the Landon School, Bethesda, MD and is currently a DMA student in Choral Conducting at George Mason University. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Michael!
When I advocate at my school for an accompanist to be in the room with me during my choir rehearsals, I liken the need to accompany, conduct, teach, and cue to driving a car while disciplining children in the back seat with either a phone ringing or police sirens somewhere in near proximity. If you have ever felt that your choir is underprepared for a performance, you know what I mean in the overwhelming of senses and needs for your attention.
Of course, in the history of Choral Music, there are great examples of conducting from the keyboard, churches where the organist is the choirmaster, and the Vienna Boys Choir as a major and ongoing example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYkvZMSnyE0. Also, there is an entire era of Western Art History (Baroque Era) when ensembles were led from the keyboard.
It follows that most undergraduate and graduate level choral conducting courses require proficiency on the piano, as this prepares so many conductors to lead rehearsal in situations where an accompanist is not present. More than that, it is the introduction to reading and hearing open scores, starting with a grand staff.
When I attended the Choral Music Experience (CME) at Ithaca College under Dr. Janet Galván a few years ago, our discussion about conducting on the bench started with something like, “If you don’t have to conduct from the bench, don’t.” If you think about the multi-tasking involved, and the fact that in other settings, science has demonstrated that human brains are not built to multi-task (http://www.livescience.com/37420-multitasking-brain-psychology.html), it follows that conducting from the bench is not ideal. As one of my choral education colleagues put it: “Conducting from the bench forces the sound to just be about making sound. It is so often not shaped and phrased from the choir where the director is also playing.”
But at that same CME experience, one of the students (like me, a professional seeking continuing development at her craft) was in that setting where leading the choir and serving as organist is the job description. And there are many of us who have that exceptional ability to accompany so coveted among good conductors. So, some suggestions:
- Study the score: I have found myself guilty of believing that my ability to sight-read can allow me to bypass a solid study of text, form, and the imaginative thinking that causes me to be more of the composer’s advocate. Whether you follow the very sound pedagogy of marking your score for phrases, dynamics, thematic/motivic ideas, labeling sections, or you internalize the score so that all of those notes and articulations are in your head, knowledge of the score, its form, and its connection to its text is rehearsal planning writ large.
- Teach the choir with minimal use of keyboard. My experience is anecdotal, but I have seen that choirs dependent on the keyboard to play parts are the choirs that are a split second behind the beat. Using a cappella training and vocal modeling as primary tools in the rehearsal experience develops greater vocal independence, and it allows you to shape phrases, check diction, dynamics, and articulation as a primary focus rather than something on a list of tasks you have to accomplish.
- Practice your accompaniment, including choir cues. Much like organists who have to make color changes (pushing/pulling individual stops or using pistons, or manipulating swell shades) have to practice on the exact instrument on which they perform in order to coordinate the necessary movements in the sequence they will occur, conductor/accompanists need to plan when a hand or a head works best for cuing. Ideally, memorizing the accompaniment and cues allows you as director to be more in the moment of the music-making. Ideally.
- Less is more: it still holds true that conductors who show tension or shallow breathing receive the same from the choir, whether they are on the podium or on the bench. The grand head nod also means a moment when your eyes have to refocus, be it on the choir or the music. Does that gesture have to be so big, or can less demonstrate the cue or the steady beat?
A final challenge for conducting from the keyboard is the focus of the choir. Is it into a mirror because the organ console is almost in another room as was the case in the church where I grew singing? Do choristers get their heads out of their music to communicate with their audience (or congregation)? …with their director?
I have often noted to my choirs that in choral music, their voices are the cake, while the accompaniment is the icing. If we tend to the recipe and chemistry that makes the cake terrific, the icing is almost unnecessary. Conversely, too much icing is too much icing, even if that amount varies from person to person. Moreover, it is usually not possible for any amount of icing to hide a poorly-made cake. If we are training choirs and choral music is the medium, we need to attend to the voice training, score study, and execution of details and nuances that make the choir express what a composer intends. Only then can we add the icing of sensitive and beautiful accompaniment. Doing both should mean advanced preparation and internalization of the music so that the conductor/accompanist can be in the moment of making music with his or her ensemble and not so dependent on reading the music to get cues, phrasing, and notes correct.
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