When you hear the word “conductor,” what comes to your mind? An old person? A male, probably? Maybe someone with a penguin-style coat and a magic wand who is just marking the tempo and telling the musicians when to come in? That is probably what you thought about conductors, but is there something else besides that?
As you probably guessed, the answer is yes, as conductors not only play a role during the performance but also before the performance, working with the members of an ensemble to get the essence and sound that they (the conductors) desire to share to the audience, and then serve as a guide while performing. And that is what the four featured student conductors did, with a spectacular performance and a brilliant orchestra, on the night of March 9 at the Howard Performing Arts Center.
The night started with the director of the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra (AUSO), Dr. Marc Elysee, explaining the importance of the student conductors and introducing the pieces. For the first piece, Rossini’s Overture of the Opera “Barber of Seville,” the first conductor to appear for the night was Earlon Cornwall (graduate, instrumental conducting), who shared an energetic and chaotic sound while being delicate with dynamics at the same time. The orchestra responded to his energy, especially the percussion section, and it really gave the impression of being in an actual opera house.
For the second piece before the intermission, Strauss Jr.’s “Emperor Waltz,” the second featured conductor was Jesus Parra (junior, viola performance), who demonstrated all of his experience on the stage since he was already a prominent conductor in Venezuela. The cleanness of the different melodic lines, the majestic sound, and the gracious movements by the conductor took the audience to a Viennese-style ball dance, to which Parra also danced for a moment. He was very expressive and not afraid of any movement.
After the short intermission, which Dr. Elysee referred to in a joke as “an exigence of the musician’s union to not go on strike,” the orchestra performed Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major, which featured a different conductor per movement. For the first movement, Earlon Cornwell was on stage, and he showed confident moves and a furious mood that amazed the audience. Then, for the second movement, the third conductor to be featured for the night was Nehemias Calsin (graduate, seminary), a 2022 graduate of music conducting, who had near-constant eye contact with each and all of the sections in the orchestra. It shared a sense of seriousness and total confidence, as not even a breath was out of his control, and he was able to project suspense and majesty, as the movement requires. For the third movement, Jahaziel Gutierrez (graduate, choral conducting) came to the stage. The volume of the ensemble seemed to be carefully planned, there was continuous sound movement, and the movements of the conductor were meditative and calm. There was also a total clarity of rhythms and melodies, even when the passages were fast for the instruments. Finally, for the last movement, Jesus Parra came back to the stage and once again demonstrated the confident level of trust between him and the orchestra. His arm movements were more free and open, and all his movements were reflected in the orchestra’s sound, like a drop creating waves in water. In the end, all four conductors gathered on the stage and thanked the public for the warm reception.
As the concert was over, I had the opportunity to ask each of them about their experience and favorite parts of conducting the AUSO.
Earlon Cornwall:I particularly liked the first piece, which had more sound and was very expressive. Overall, I think the concert was very good because you got to see all these different conductors with different interpretations and ideas. It’s been a lot of work to get to where we are, and the connection in the performance was really good when everything comes together.
Nehemias Calsin: The musicians' response was impressive because it is not easy to be accustomed to different conductors. I think that was the best part of working with the orchestra, and I like how they enjoyed doing what they did.
Jahaziel Gutierrez: It was an experience that is not new for me [as a choral conductor], but it was a long time since the last time I did it, so I really enjoyed being in front of an orchestra, and even more to conduct a large work in contrast to choral works, since it requires more study and it is challenging to be in front of different people who dominate different instruments, trying to guide them to a precise interpretation of the piece.
Jesus Parra: It is always fun to conduct the orchestra because it has a contrast: when you rehearse versus when you perform. I love it when the orchestra changes a lot when they perform in public because the rehearsals can be very stressful, but during the performance, all members concentrate, the sound keeps moving, and it has a different energy. With the pieces [I conducted], I think the orchestra enjoyed it, and the concert was dynamic, with lots of colors, and just “chévere” (amazing).
Dr. Elysee also highlighted the uniqueness of the concert being student-led and how the orchestra members listened to each other and responded to each conductor. About the conductors, he mentioned that it seemed like “they are ready to graduate at that point,” and he was satisfied and happy with the result. He also invites all of you, dear readers, to join the next concert on April 20 at HPAC. Some hints and rumors indicate that it will be an interactive experience, so do not miss the chance!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.