I’ve worked with quite a few conductors in my lifetime of music. Recently I asked myself if I would still play with the Utah Valley Symphony if our current conductor retired.
I’ve worked with our current conductor for over 20 years. Even though he hasn’t retired yet, we had the associate conductor do last season’s concerts and we are having some guest conductors this year. I like the photo above how it appears that the conductor is helping the music emerge from nowhere. It’s as if the conductor is pulling the music out of the darkness. That indeed is one of the things a conductor can do–help pull the music out of the musicians.
Conductors, like people, come in many varied personalities and styles. I’ve been fortunate to have many conductors that I loved working with and others that–well, were different.
Each conductor has their own style, philosophies, analogies, strengths and weaknesses, as we all do. One thing I have been reminded of recently is that you can learn something from everyone, whether we are talking about conductors or neighbors or family members or strangers.
I’m looking forward to this year to see what I can learn from our guest conductors. And since I love music so much and it’s still rewarding to play with the symphony, I anticipate staying for a while, regardless of the conductor.
No matter what our situation is, we can learn to adapt. We can learn to accept. We can learn how to work with others. We can look for the good and ask ourselves each day, “What can I learn from this?”
Lynette Lewis Flute Studio 