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Recently on Facebook I started talking about the craft of conducting a musical ensemble. The response there was strong enough that I thought it might be worthwhile to repost here. --------------------------------- I'll be the jerk who says this out loud. To all the pianists who want to musical direct—and more specifically, conduct—Musical Theatre: you actually NEED TO STUDY CONDUCTING. It is a skill unto its own. You don't automatically acquire it from being a pianist. It is not something you can just pick up or improvise any more than someone who has never played the piano can simply read down a score. The vast majority of professional instrumentalists have conditioned themselves to play well under incompetent conductors. This is merely a survival tool, and they are not really playing at their best. A good conductor will bring out great musicianship from their orchestra. The problem is that untrained MDs think they are awesome conductors because pro musicians cover for their inadequacies. So I'll put this out there: if you have never actually studied conducting beyond the standard 101 undergrad Basic Conducting course then you are woefully unqualified to conduct a professional ensemble. Don't fool yourself; no one else is fooled.

Performance spaces – we have just the one for you. As a creative individual, you know that having a performance space is crucial for your artistic expression. It gives you a haven to brainstorm and experiment, practice your craft, and ultimately showcase your talent to the world. If you're someone whose life revolves around show business and are looking for a place to rehearse, train, and perfect your craft, community spaces can offer you an ideal solution. Compared to commercial venues, community spaces don't come with the added pressures of time and finances, and they give you the freedom to develop and deliver your work at your own pace. You can gradually attract smaller audiences, which allows you to focus on experimentation, growth, and honing your skills. No matter what kind of performance you have in mind, we have a space perfectly suited to your needs. From art festivals like OpenField https://lnkd.in/gHpKSqn9, band performances and practice sessions to book readings, choir practice, classical, pop or rock concerts, cultural performances, classical, folk, or other dance, Eisteddfod, festivals, Gigs, live music, musicals, musicale, dramatic and live performances, poetry readings, recitals, film screenings, shows, and theatre, we've got you covered. So go ahead and unleash your creativity and let us provide you with the perfect stage to bring your vision to life. https://lnkd.in/ghAsvJhk John Grant, Bruce Crouch, Simon Winfield, Stephanie Cherote, Greg Levy, Mia Patoulios, Kate Dezarnaulds, Fenella Kernebone, Emily Copeland, Kristie Atkins, Jennifer Cook, Rona Morgan, #performancespace #communityspace

The story and the similarities between Opera and oysters. Before starting my music studies, if you were to ask me about Opera as a musical style, I would say that I do not like it. I would even justify my opinion by stating that I don't find the way they sing natural. However, upon joining the conservatory, I started listening to and studying the scores of various operas. It didn't take much time before I realized that I really like opera. I appreciate how it seamlessly combines the art of theatre and acting with singing and orchestral music. I must admit that I've learned a great deal from its thematic approach, the use of leitmotifs (a technique widely employed in film music), the orchestration, and the magical capability of the human voice as a musical instrument. Do you know why I didn't like Opera before? Just because I never listened to one until that moment. It's funny, isn't it? Forming an opinion about something without even knowing or trying it. Take, for example, a group of people who claim not to like oysters; let's say 60% of them express this dislike. If you were to ask that 60% how many of them have never tried oysters, more than half would likely raise their hands. We often carry biases or assumptions about things we don't like without giving them a fair chance. This tendency extends to various aspects of life, such as rejecting opportunities, avoiding new activities or hobbies, or hesitating to develop new skills. I do believe one of the reasons this is happening is that, as we get older, we lose the skill of curiosity. Curiosity is a key element for personal development (and simply having fun sometimes). By applying curiosity and at least giving things a try, you always win. As you either explore a new direction that helps you discover more about yourself, or you confirm that you truly do not enjoy something, sparing yourself from future wonderings and potential regret. #Curiosity #PersonalDevelopment #Exploration #OpenMindedness #DiscoverYourself

Transcending Space The recent blow out in the carnatic music circles in South India provided me some space for constructive thinking as a theatre maker and educator. What I found most interesting in the debate was the concept of how there is always a sense of reverence when artistes talk about the space in question. I have had the privilege to be one of the few producers who can both afford and enable performances at a space as revered as The Music Academy which over the years has hosted several of our performances. All art, irrespective of it's intent is political in nature, and all stances taken are therefore, political how much ever we try and sit on the fence. As much as the fence seems comfortable, we at CreaPlay and Crea Shakthi can ill afford to keep sitting on it. it's important in our pursuit of solutions for a more inclusive performing arts ecosystem - to first diagnoze the problem. As a humble theatre maker of a very vibrant city - I have to admit point blank that; "City spaces for the arts aren't welcoming or accessible for a broad variety of artistes and audiences alike" There, I said it. Off the fence! Phew! Most theatre makers have always tried to make it as inclusive as possible and it's something we preach at the school level too with our students, but this reverence over "certain spaces" restricts the kind of theatre and access to scores of young artistes who wait years to find a voice. Now, hopefully, the solution; For Theatre to transcend to a more plural audience/artiste base, it must transcend space. The days of the proscenium stage of 400-500 seaters while not long gone, will have to be only for a specific type of performance perhaps restricted to 1-2 a year for a collective. The rest of the time,we theatre makers have to find, create in alternate spaces where you take the art to the audience rather than the audience coming to you. When we perform in any space, there is automatically a reverence attached to the energy of that space - much like a place of worship. A space can hold onto it's reverence only if it has the necessary audiences immersively engaging with the artistes. There is a whole generation of theatre makers who have now grown up, having had theatre as part of their school life - they will expect quality theatre from us as both audiences and theatre makers themselves. To transcend the issue of access, we must in our minds transcend our idea of what the space for the theatre, or any art, is. That way, any space is a space for performance worth the reverence it deserves. Now that reverence needn't necessarily be a state of the art auditorium with a 200 year history in the heart of South Chennai - it can be the beach front by the waves, it can be an online zoom call, or it can be a classroom. #Education #schools #edtech #IndianEducators #TeachingInIndia #EdTechIndia #EducationForAll #EduInnovation #TeachersOfIndia #EduPolicyIndia #PerformingArts #StageCraft #TheatreLife #theatretalks

Regardless of how you feel about it, winter is going to be here until the middle of March. Fortunately, there are some cool shows happening at The Met, Chan's, the News Cafe and the Stadium Theatre Performing Arts Centre & Conservatory until then. To read about a few of them, check out my article in The Call & Times!!!

How to read a stage plot is something one learns from almost their first day on the job in the industry. A stage plot is a day-to-day occurrence for anyone who works within music venues. https://lnkd.in/gYphysCK #entertainment #theatre #audio #soundgirls #audiotech #stage #sound #music #entertainmentindustry #creative #soundengineer #techsupport #workinginaudio #sounddesign #stageplot

Auto Align Post 2, by Sound Radix, at work on an opera performance I'm currently editing. I do have the standard one that's designed specifically for music applications, but I figured why not give this a shot just to see if it would work, at it is! What other interesting use cases have you found for it besides dialogue? #dialogueediting #audioeditor #musiceditor

A question was recently put forth in a collective I'm mediating regarding new musical development. The question was this: What are your thoughts on being able to produce a new musical at the moment? Are venues willing to take a risk on an unknown show? It's a worthy question to consider. I think the question itself is also a product of the systems in place (or lack thereof) for new musical works as a whole. I'd love others' thoughts, and for anyone curious, my reply was: First let me say I believe it is hugely important to continue to write and produce new musicals for a number of reasons. But on the question above, I think it's less a question about venues (unless they're buying in or partnering) and more a question of if producers/investors are willing to take the risk. Venues are often hired or offer producer/artist box office splits so are more willing/able to explore and premiere unknown shows. Passion goes a long way in this industry - in fact, I believe it's a huge factor in what ultimately keeps musical theatre alive at all. That, the connection and joy it creates. For many producers who truly are passionate about musical theatre, in their heart of hearts they want to be able to take the risk but, in the current climate, just aren't financially in a position to do so. On a good day, taking a punt on a world premiere is risky as there is no built-in audience base or marketing to work with (that being said, past projects and venues with subscriber bases can help mitigate this risk to a certain extent). It's extra risky right now, as even commercial theatre is taking a hit due to cost of living and other factors. It can take years to recoup the costs to develop, workshop and ultimately produce a full scale musical. So a producer must be pretty confident that the show is sellable, which, more often than not, means familiar IP (Jukebox shows, parodies, musicals made from films etc). The truth is, in places like the UK, there is far more gov't and philanthropic support that goes into these kinds of projects and there are ecosystems in place that can bring groups of people/producers/venues together to premiere these kinds of works. And because of this, audiences see new works more often and have learned that there are wonderful new works out there worth seeing, so are selling tickets. That system doesn't exist here. There is a certain amount of trust and tried and true proof that is needed, for both producers and audiences, to know that new musicals can be as brilliant (and sell as well) as ones that already exist in the familiar canon. The UK and New York have spent decades building that trust as they take risks on new shows. That's not to say it's easy in those major sectors by any means, they're still struggling. But here in Aus, we don't yet have the financial support in place to create that kind of eco-system. But I believe we can get there... Thoughts? #musicaltheatre #newmusicals #producer #newworks #development #musicals

Unleashing the Majestic Sounds of the Pipe Organ: A Guide to Understanding and Appreciating This Historical Instrument Introduction The pipe organ, a musical marvel of ancient origins, has been enth... Read More - https://lnkd.in/dhdTq5EW

Discover the truth about music and studying at https://lnkd.in/gST9AH8N (#study, #studying, #music, #relaxation, #musical, #school, #college, #highschool, #middleschool, #playingMusic, #research)