I am writing just a tiny entry to let you all know I have not forgotten or abandoned the blog. The last few days have seen a momentary break from company business and time for me to focus on one other not so insignifigant issue...practicing conducting. I spend so much time on this blog talking about the running of AOT, that one might get the impression that I don't get around to the creative aspects. Well, with "Messiah" I will be conducting. I have served as a co-music director with our fantastic harpsichordist Adam Pearl for the past several shows, but when tech-week rolls around, my role shifts and Adam takes over the actual direction of the orchestra. This time I am in the pit and it causes one to learn the score in a vastly different way. More than anything else, one has to build up the stamina to maintain energy and concentration for the entire length of this epic work (which is long, but not nearly as long as most people think). All that to say that these past several days, while not writing on the blog, I have had my head stuck in my "Messiah" music score (I have a second I use of the staging) working to know it as intimately as I possibly can.
(The issue of having a conductor for these works for which a conductor was never intended, is a completely seperate issue the merits a post here. The idea of a conductor turns many purists off, yet at the same time those ensembles which use conductors almost ALWAYS acheive a more unified sound and cohesive musical set of ideas. I promise to post my own opinions on this very soon!)
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