How Many Maestros Does It Take To Screw in a Light Bulb?

This is a PRESS RELEASE for the upcoming conductor workshop that I have organized with the Round Rock Symphony in Texas...

“How Many Maestros Does It Take
to Screw in a Light Bulb?"

April 22, 2010, Round Rock, TX—If you have ever wondered about the punch-line to the joke “How many maestros does it take to screw in a light bulb?,” you are in luck. For one week in May, orchestra conductors from all over America will converge in Round Rock for an orchestra conducting workshop organized by the Round Rock Symphony. The classes, taught by lead faculty Maestro Peter Bay (music director, Austin Symphony), will help the young Maestros learn score preparation, body movement, musical interpretation, and rehearsal techniques. The week-long workshop culminates in a public concert on Saturday, May 22, at 8:00 p.m., which will take place at the C.D. Fulkes Auditorium (300 W. Anderson Avenue, downtown Round Rock). Round Rock’s own Maestro, Silas Nathaniel Huff will conduct. In addition to the public concert, one of the rehearsals with the conductors-in-training will be open to the public on Thursday, May 20, 6:00-10:00 p.m. The rehearsal, which will happen at the Wingate by Windham Hotel ballroom (1209 North I-35 at Palm Valley Boulevard), will be a rare glimpse into an orchestra’s rehearsal process, and an opportunity to hear young conductors receiving feedback from a renowned Maestro.

The Round Rock Symphony’s concert on May 22 will feature four masterpieces from different periods from the classical to the twentieth century: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute Overture, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Coriolanus Overture, Antonín Dvořák’s “New World Symphony,” and Aaron Copland’s Quiet City. The concert will also feature Amy Burgus performing the English Horn solo and Josh Davies performing the trumpet solo on Quiet City.

“Conducting the music of four hugely famous composers like these is a great honor and a daunting task, akin to handling paintings by Delacroix, Degas, Van Gogh, and Dali,” says Maestro Silas Huff, music director of the Round Rock Symphony. “We will survey the last 200 years of history through majestic, moving, and joyful music—it’s the best way to reflect on history and the human condition.”

Tickets for this concert range in price from $15 to $20 (all RRISD students and any child 12 & under is free), and may be purchased by cash or credit card at the door, or via credit card online at www.RoundRockSymphony.org. The box office opens one hour before the performance.

The concert will be the culmination of a week-long workshop for professional and aspiring orchestra conductors, with the venerable Maestro Peter Bay as lead instructor. Twelve conductors are coming from Salt Lake City, Miami, and New York, among other places, to study the concert repertoire under the guidance of the Austin Symphony’s long-time Maestro. According to Bay, the students will not only learn about score study and identifying musical problems, they will also “go deeper…to learn about the art of interpretation.” In addition, they will take a variety of body movement classes in order to better understand physical methods of communication.

“The art of conducting is very cerebral, but also relies on a person’s ability to express ideas with the hands, face, and torso,” says Maestro Huff. “Conductors often are very talented musicians who have little training in the art of moving a baton through space and communicating with the body. This workshop will fill in some of those gaps.” In addition to music and conducting techniques classes taught by Maestro Bay, the workshop participants will study ballet, yoga, the ancient Chinese art of Tai Chi, and Alexander Technique, a tension-diminishing method that promotes efficient use of the body.

Participant Joseph Choi, Associate Conductor of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra (KY) says, “The Repertoire for this workshop consists of pieces that are in constant demand for workshops and auditions, and we can use this time to brush up our skills, meet other conductors, and recharge our conducting batteries for the coming season.”

“I was inspired by Maestro Bay years ago,” says participant Adam Torres, a former music student at UT and candidate for Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting at Colorado State University. “I am honored for the opportunity to learn from and work with him in Round Rock.”

Paul Davis, Conductor of the Webster University Symphony Orchestra in St. Louis, MO, is another ex-Longhorn. “As a UT alumnus, I am enthused to return to the Austin area to be part of this workshop…and eager to work with the Round Rock Symphony, Maestro Huff, and Maestro Bay.”

The public is invited to watch the final workshop session of the week, during which participants take turns conducting the Round Rock Symphony in a rehearsal of Dvořák’s “New World Symphony.” Each conductor will have the opportunity to create music, hear feedback from Maestro Bay, and make adjustments to their style and technique. This session takes place on Thursday, May 20, 6:00-10:00 p.m. in the ballroom of the Wingate by Windham Hotel, where the workshop participants are staying. Admission to this special workshop event a $5 suggested donation for onlookers.

To learn more about the event visit www.RoundRockSymphony.org, or contact the Symphony at (512) 264-5368 or info@RoundRockSymphony.org.

The Round Rock Symphony, a start-up non-profit corporation, needs angels to support it. Music lovers who want to support the Round Rock Symphony by sponsoring or underwriting a concert, or by advertising in a playbill are invited to contact the Symphony at (512) 264-5368 or info@RoundRockSymphony.org. To learn more about supporting the Round Rock Symphony, call or visit www.RoundRockSymphony.org/support.htm.