Page 35 - index

In his recent book the conductor Mark Wigglesworth
includes a somewhat tongue-in-cheek ‘summary’
of the skills needed by a conductor, formulated
from the answers given to him by professional
orchestral musicians when he asked them what
a conductor should be able to do:

Conductors need good baton technique, rehearsal Mark Wigglesworth
technique, musicianship, knowledge, interpretative The Silent Musician
conviction, an ability to communicate, to stretch and Faber & Faber
2018
challenge people, to make the performance better
than the rehearsals, to be an inspiration, have a good
ear, clear thoughts, reliability, competence, rhythm,
an expressive face, sense of structure, ability to
accompany, style, suitability for the repertoire,
originality, knowledge of string bowing, an ability
to collaborate, analyse and solve difficulties, explain
why things need to be repeated, empower people,
train people, make people listen.

They must not talk, over-rehearse, under-rehearse,
or be musically detached.

They must have good manners, humour, respect,
approachability, enthusiasm, encouragement, humility,
positive spirit, patience, leadership, sincerity, audibility,
creativity, an awareness of everyone, self-control,
and strength of character.

They must be relaxed, self-confident, empathetic,
punctual, motivating, polite, authoritative, realistic,
interesting, charismatic, persevering, committed, well
dressed, and even-tempered.

They must be popular with audiences, and show
chastity, poverty and obedience to the score.

They must not be egocentric, intimidating, sarcastic,
rude, boring, nervous, bullying, ugly, smelly, blinkered
or over-familiar.

They must not change things for the sake of it,
glare at mistakes, or hit the stand.” We can see
from that how important what might be termed
“soft skills” are in conducting. Of course the musical
and technical skills are vital, but there is much more
Mark Wigglesworth to it than that. There is very little material available
that deals with people skills, leadership, networking,
career development, planning of concerts and
rehearsals, and much more besides.

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