Vacation? What Vacation?
It must be cushy being a conductor. We take all the credit for other peoples work and after the last note of the season is played, we either skip town or sit on the couch to exercise our "Play Station" with the latest game or two. Oh how I wish it were true. Here it is early August and already I'm getting anxiety attacks because I know I am behind. Behind on what you may ask? Well, despite our last Classical concert being played in late May, we've had the additional load of the Freedom Festival, national auditions, and Follies--all of which are logistically extremely complex and time consuming. I've briefly escaped for the occasional guest conducting stint, but my time now is dedicated primarily on three things: administration, studying and working on the music for our November pops concert featuring Tomas Kubinek.
Administratively, I have to sketch out the next 2 seasons in preparation for the re-opening of the new and improved Paramount Theatre. We are embroiled in the design nuances of the Theatre as well as plans for the Symphony Center. I have to program and script our education concerts, and finalize our Celebration of Carols program that includes scanning my own phrasing and breath marks so the chorus doesn't have to read my mind. We're gearing up for our annual BRUCEMORCHESTRA! concert which is the most complex logistical project we have ever done to date. I REALLY need to study, because once the season starts, I no longer have time to crack a book. If I don't know the season by the beginning of September, I'm in big trouble.
My studying is woefully behind schedule, however, because of the preparations needed for our collaboration with Hancher and Tomas Kubinek. He has designs to perform this program which we've developed together from scratch with a host of other orchestras. I am preparing the music so that there will be no guess work for any future orchestra. Every piece has had to have been arranged, composed, or adapted. Every note has had to have been entered into a publication software. Each part will have to have been proof-read and bowed for the string players, and finally it all needs to be compiled together in a neat package that looks professional. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight when it comes to the myriad of minutiae that needs to be taken care for this project. Thank God I'm working with Steve Shanley on this program. Not only is he a great arranger, but he is far better versed in the arcane publishing program "FINALE." Whenever I back myself into a corner (which is all too often), he bails me out. I wonder why he's stopped answering my phone calls though... :-)
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