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Thoughts of a

Conductor

During

Lockdown

by PeteHarrison

I can’t begin to explain how it felt sitting in my dressing My Wells Cathedral School bassoon students slowly came to
room in Portsmouth’s Guildhall in early March 2020 terms with this new method of teaching, some even finding
gathered around a laptop waiting to hear the results of it better on occasions. I know that I became a much more
the latest COBRA meeting. organised teacher as I found it much more difficult to
effectively fill any ‘spare’ time on Zoom, so I made sure we
I was sat with the Chief Executive and the Head of used every second to the full. Something that I hope I’ve
Marketing of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra carried on with, now we’re able to have limited ‘in person’
while the orchestra were gathering for a short rehearsal time with our students.
before I was due to conduct the third of our Hollywood
Head to Head concerts. We really weren’t sure if the Once the initial shock of the situation was over, I had a quiet
concert was going ahead or if it would have been safer word with myself as I have often dreamed of a time when
to pull it there and then. Fortunately, it did go ahead, there was no time pressure to have scores learned, presentation
but it’s ironic that the leader and I both pulled away written, arrangements finished and concerts programmed –
from the public handshake and bumped elbows instead - and here it finally was (and the sun was shining which did
partially as a light-hearted moment, but now we realise make everything more bearable...)
with a serious undertone.
My new to-do list ran as follows;
That was the last public performance for me along with
so many of my musician friends (both freelance and LISTENING. I really enjoyed the time to sit and listen to
employed), singers and actors too. We all watched our a lot more music, both for pleasure and for work research
diaries swiftly clearing themselves leaving us snow-blind purposes. There were so many ‘rabbit-holes’ I fell into from
from staring at endless white pages. We then listened as obscure film scores through to contemporary wind music - I
we were told we ‘must’ stay at home and all schools and have been at the helm of both the National Youth Wind
many businesses were to close, and people were to work Orchestra of Wales and the Wells Cathedral School Wind
from home. Orchestra recently, so the chance to plan any possible future
concerts was a joy.
We all suddenly became experts at using a previously
unknown piece of software called Zoom, as we bellowed This is a point that I often make to younger folks I see, the
at our students endlessly asking them to unmute access we have to music these days is just remarkable. I
themselves and trying to de-cypher the music they remember as a kid, the bus ride into Bristol carrying my
were playing. Were they being un-rhythmic or was record player stylus so I could join the Music Lending Library
that the poor internet connection between us – then bringing the records home and listening to them for
inexplicably pausing them in the middle of a phrase the few days I was allowed before the return bus ride. Now
then dumping the remainder of the notes at our feet I just pick up my mobile, type in the name of the piece or
at twice the speed? composer and I can choose from 100s of performances.

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