3-year-old conductor kid

[SField]

Originally Posted by milosz

I don't really understand the difference in good conductors and bad - don't the musicians pretty much know the music backward and forward without being conducted?

and the 13-year old b-boy is pretty badass, but doesn't he have that one main spin move? didn't see a lot of other positional holds or things I assume are impressive in those competitions.

Orchestras are made up of anywhere between 40 (chamber) and 80+ people... a conductor is the person that provides the artistic vision for a given piece, and has a large part to play in the kind of sound the orchestra gets. It isn't merely a question of maintaining a pulse and signaling entries, but rather making a lot of people play as a cohesive whole. It's really a very big job (and that's not even taking into account their many other duties, if they're the actual Artistic Director.)

 

[Douglas]

There is also a whole lot that happens well before the performance... there is a lot for the conductor to interpret and he/she needs to instill and communicate that vision in rehearsals. I had an opportunity to sit in once on a rehearsal and it was very eye opening.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by Douglas

There is also a whole lot that happens well before the performance... there is a lot for the conductor to interpret and he/she needs to instill and communicate that vision in rehearsals. I had an opportunity to sit in once on a rehearsal and it was very eye opening.

Many symphony orchestras will periodically hold open rehearsals. Along with those and attending the pre-concert lectures, you can get a lot more out of your trip to the symphony.

 

[audiophilia]

These days, man management is a top priority. Long gone are the days where I could go Toscanini on their asses. Sadly, there are many instances where the tail wags the dog. Here's one of many, for instance.