If everyone has sheet music and all the timing information down, then what’s the composer’s role?
In: 952
Conductor here!
When I’m waving the stick/hands, I’m communicating information with my ensemble (primarily choirs). Generally, if I want them to get louder I use larger gestures; to get quieter, softer ones.
I also function as a metronome to keep their time. Everyone has a slightly different internal metronome — if they’re all sync’d to me instead, they won’t get ahead or behind each other.
I also will cue entrances; sometimes, people forget to count, or get lost.
Lastly, my main job is *rehearsing* them. My objective is to help them be more…well, musical. Some composers are better at this than others (see Leonard Slatkin or Leonard Bernstein), but our objective is to help the musicians under our baton to emote together and bring you, the listener, into the music; we don’t want to just sing/play *at* you! We want to move you, whether that’s through the heartbreaking beauty of [Jenkins’ Benedictus](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5KdLTxOD1KM)…
…or the rollicking fun of [Holsinger’s “Abram’s Pursuit”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_h4tiFNS-qg&pp=ygUZYWJyYW0ncyBwdXJzdWl0IGhvbHNpbmdlcg%3D%3D)…
…or even make you laugh with [Lemony Snicket’s “The Composer is Dead.”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YVQ3xTXL6EA)
Our goal as a conductor is to help be the conduit between the music, the musicians, and you. 🙂
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