Army Leader vs. Musical Director

I am in Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) right now at the U.S. Army School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA. My buddies who are infantry, artillery, armor, or transportation officers are at their respective BOLCs, but nobody really knows what Army conductors do in BOLC. Well, here you go…

Here at the U.S. Army School of Music, we don't learn anything about music because my colleagues and I already know music—that's why we were chosen for this job. Instead, we learn a ton of non-musical subjects that are useful to us, like audio reinforcement, drill & ceremony, concert programming, copyright compliance, and unit cohesion/team development. Beyond that, we learn Army-important things, like supply procedures, how to prepare Army briefings and correspondence, fundamentals of joint operations, IED identification, soldier resilience, and a ton of regulations.

But the real subject of study here at BOLC is leadership, and it’s very interesting to learn the Army perspective on leadership. According to Field Manual 6-22 (Army Leadership), “An Army leader is anyone who...inspires and influences people to accomplish organizational goals. Army leaders motivate people...to pursue actions, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization.” Hmm. Sounds like a music director. FM 6-22 also says that Army Leaders have three attributes—character, presence, and intellectual capacity—and Army Leaders essentially do three things—lead, develop others, and achieve results. Just like a music director. We Army leaders are expected to be agile, adaptable, and competent subject-matter experts who bring a team together and rely on the competence of others to accomplish a common goal. Wow. That sounds just like a music director.

Military leader vs. musical leader. What's the difference?

Now that I think of it, the Army's idea of a leader rhymes pretty well with what I've always thought a great musical leader was. As I begin my career as an Army Conductor, I am thinking a lot about how to incorporate my pre-conceived ideas about musical leadership into my military work, and I hope my military studies will help me improve my civilian musical work, too.

More soon...

I am a U.S. Army Officer! Hooah!

I just finished 6 months of Army immersion training – 3 months of Basic Combat Training and 3 months of Officer Candidate School. I won’t bore you with every detail, but here is a short synopsis:

Basic Combat Training (BCT) was a lot easier than I expected. I performed very well. I discovered that I like firing weapons and performing battle drills, and I excelled at both. The terrible part was being cut off from friends, family, and society. For ten weeks, we had no access to phones, email, or internet, and mail service was spotty. Also, I didn’t like being called “retard” (and worse), but it is all part of the game. Overall, the training was fun and easy (everyone who started with me graduated), and along the way I met some interesting and colorful characters, to say the least.

[click here to see a slideshow of my Basic Combat Training]

Officer Candidate School (OCS) was completely different. Designed to identify the best qualified soldiers for Army officership (and to eliminate the rest), the 12-week course was crazy difficult, psychologically stressful, and physically demanding. We ran miles and miles, and were tried physically and mentally, put under constant stress, and deprived of sleep. About 45% of my class dropped out (or was kicked out). Only the best of the best made it. OCS was the hardest thing I ever did in my life, but on July 28, 2011, my father, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rob Huff, swore me into the Army as a commissioned officer. Hooah.

[click here to see a slideshow of Officer Candidate School]

In my last week of OCS, the Fort Benning newspaper (The Bayonet) wrote this article about me: "Officer Candidate Strikes a New Chord in the Army"

Now I’m in Virginia Beach attending the US Army School of Music. It’s wonderful being with musicians again and learning how to run an Army band. I’ve recently learned that my first assignment – starting in November 2011 – will be as the Executive Officer and Assistant Conductor of the TRADOC Band (TRADOC = Training and Doctrine Command) at Fort Eustis, VA. The “TRADOC Band” is an amazing unit consisting of a concert band, marching band, jazz ensemble, rock band, Dixie band, brass quintet, trombone quartet, woodwind quintet, and a salsa band. I am very excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to blogging a little more frequently on musical and conducting issues.

As the 1-34th Infantry Battalion (where I did Basic Training) says: “Always forward!”

Thank you, New York

Hello there, New York City,

Got a minute? I need to tell you something. I have to leave you now, but I will miss you badly. Where am I going? Well, for the next six months I will live in Columbus, GA, then I'll spend 3 months in Norfolk, VA. After that, I'm not sure, but I won't live here. What? Of course I still like you!...No, I don't want to leave you, but I have to. I really would like to stay here forever, but I can't.

Before I go, I want to thank you personally for a few things. Thank you, New York, for:

1. Being the greatest city in the world
2. Having more great music and art than anywhere on earth
3. Being the most diverse and tolerant city I know
4. Having a generally cultured and intellectual populace
5. Having great public transportation, 24/7
6. 400 miles of bike lanes
7. Grand Central Station
   
8. 1,700 parks (so many great parks! Central Park is a little over-rated, but I have enjoyed her many, many times)
9. The Metropolitan Opera (Alas! How will I live without you?)
10. Oh yeah...Met broadcasts
11. American Ballet Theater and NYC Ballet
12. Carnegie Hall
    
13. Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, Greenpoint, Washington Heights, and all the other good ethnic food neighborhoods
    
14. 18,951 restaurants. Seriously.
    
15. Great food, and bars that stay open until 4 am
16. Shoe-shine guys
    
17. MOMA, Natural History, Met, and all the other great museums
    
18. Times Square (to contain most of the tourists and keep them out of Astoria and other lovely places)
19. Diners and pizza joints
20. Abundant taxis
21. The jogging/bike path that encircles Manhattan
22. Fancy people
23. Weird people
24. Ridiculously liberal people
25. Really great people
    
26. Broadway, 30th Avenue, and Ditmars
    
27. The Bohemian Beer Garden
28. Astoria, the greatest neighborhood in the universe
29. Making Taylor happy (Veniero's is a nice touch)
30. Being invincible

Most of all, New York, thank you for all the opportunities you have provided, bringing so many talented people together, and offering me a chance to make it here.

Many of my friends and family members don't get you. "Why do you live in New York?" they ask. "What's so great about New York?"...I agree - they are dumb questions. You exposed me to higher standards in every field, the stiffest competition on earth, an audience for what I do, the largest/best community of talented artists and collaborators, and people and organizations with the means to support my work and growth. You taught me resilience, patience, compassion, and gratitude for what I have. You fostered my evolution in the most important part of my professional development.

Remember when I first came here to you? It was September 2002, and I had $100 in my pocket, no car, no job, no connections, and no apartment. I'm leaving 9 years later as the music director of 2 professional orchestras, co-director of an international conducting institute, and U.S. Army Conductor/Officer Candidate. You can't do that in many cities. You made me who I am, New York, and I am extremely grateful.

Next time I come here, I'll be a tourist. I'm truly sorry. I'll try to blend in, though. No, I won't wear a colorful ski jacket. No, I won't block pedestrian traffic by just standing in the middle of the sidewalk. No, I won't see the Spider-Man musical. Yeah, I heard it sucks, too.

Well, my friend, it's time for me to go. Thank you for all you have given me. You are New York City, the Big Apple. I made it here. I can make it any where. It's up to you, New York.

I love you.
Silas

Conductors in San Francisco

Recently, Taylor and I wanted to get out of freezing cold, snowy New York, and I found the perfect excuse: the 2011 Conductors Guild Conference in beautiful San Francisco. January 6-9 we went to California and had a great long weekend filled with food, fun, and a good dose of conductor-talk. (photo to the left by Taylor)

We stayed at the beautiful and historic Hotel Whitcomb. We could easily walk to most attractions in SF and it was an easy 5-10 minute stroll to the conference, which took place at the War Memorial Building, 1 block away from Davies Hall.

On the first day of the conference, we went to Davies Hall to watch guest conductor Kirill Karabitz rehearse the SF Symphony in Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances and Schumann's Piano Concerto (Helene Grimaud, piano). Davies Hall is amazing, and of course the orchestra is outstanding as well. And Helene...wow. This rehearsal was a great treat.

Davies Hall

The highlights of the conference included a discussion with Maestro Michael Morgan (Oakland Symphony) about finding one's place in the world of conducting, a panel discussion with concertmasters from several orchestras, and an enlightening lecture/demonstration with Maestro Vance George in which he discussed choral rehearsal techniques and examples. However, as a conductor who loves conducting ballet (and a lover of dance), my favorite session was probably the discussion entitled "The Role of a Ballet Conductor" by SF Ballet Music Director Martin West. I also discovered many new pieces for orchestra, band, and choir, and met quite a few colleagues I'd never met before.

The Conductors Guild is the only organization in the world dedicated exclusively to the art of conducting and to conductors. They offer publications, reviews, job postings, workshops, and so many other services to us conductors. Many of my European colleagues say, "You are lucky to have the Guild - there is nothing like it in Europe." Some of them join the Conductors Guild, even though it is based in the U.S. Let me say this: if you are a conductor, you should be a member of the Guild. It's affordable, and they have student rates, too. There's no excuse. If you are serious about your career and not a member of CG, join today.

The annual CG conference is an opportunity for conductors to gather, discuss problems, offer solutions, and learn from one another. It is also an opportunity to learn about services and companies that exist to make our jobs easier. It always happens in a great city (2012 in Chicago, 2013 in NYC!) and they are also a lot of fun. If you are able to attend the conference in January, you should do that, too.

I was at the conference representing the International Conducting Institute. Many conducting students, professionals, and teachers were interested in the Institute, and I anticipate full classes in 2011. We have already filled the NYC Workshop in March, and we are well under way with the Austin and CZ workshops (in May and July/August, respectively).

Me and the ICI Booth

Non-musical highlights of my SF trip included a wonderful lunch with my composer friend Jack Perla, a great walk with Tay from our hotel to the Ferry Building Marketplace, the best hot chocolate on earth - Recchiuti hot chocolate, and the Fisherman's Wharf where we ate an excellent dinner at Nick's Lighthouse - clam chowder in a bread bowl, a whole crab, and beer. Mmmmm...

Crab at Nick's Lighthouse, photo by Tay

We also shared a wonderful dinner with at Lers Ros Thai with a few new conductor friends, including the newly elected president of the Conductors Guild James Allen Anderson. We ate alligator! (among other not-so-weird stuff). We had lunch with my NYC colleague and friend David Leibowitz at a fantastic BBQ place called Tommy's Joynt, and we spent an amazing evening with my old buddy Suzanne and her beau - dinner at Le Trappe in North Beach and drinks and dancing at Top of the Mark - the bar where the martini was invented...supposedly. They were great martinis, and we had a fantastic night out.

Taylor and Suzanne

It was a beautiful weekend. I can't wait to go back to S.F.