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.