The Challenge of Conducting an Orchestra and Chorus Together

In the final concert of its 2013-2014 season, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra will partner with the North Shore Choral Society to perform Verdi’s magnificent Requiem Mass on June 15 at 2:30 pm at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.
 
Conducting an orchestra and chorus together provides some unique challenges. According to Maestro Eckerling, a conductor must work with the two ensembles' different sense of timing. Most orchestras don’t play exactly on the beat. Sometimes the players come in a little later than the beat, and sometimes a lot later than the beat. It's complicated because it can vary from orchestra to orchestra. It varies according to the conductor's beat. It can vary according to how loud or accented the beat is supposed to sound (the greater the accent, the closer to the beat they play). It's also complicated by the fact that the lowest instruments of the orchestra, such as trombones, tuba, and string basses, take a longer time for their sound to materialize after they "play their note." And because they are in the back of the orchestra, it can take even longer for the note to sound. On the other hand, choruses ALWAYS sing exactly and precisely ON THE BEAT. Always. And it never changes. Somehow, a conductor must give a single gesture that gets everyone to play and sing at exactly the same time, despite the tendencies described above. It’s why conducting chorus and orchestra together is so difficult, and it's why conducting opera is the most difficult of all. 

How is it possible then that all of those different elements come together? Because the single most important element in a musical performance that holds everything together is...(not the conductor!!!) but each performer’s ability to listen! And through listening, they sing and play as an ensemble. And when a conductor can get his/her forces to listen to each other, it can be the most glorious and rewarding of performances. Read Maestro Eckerling’s full article "The Difference Between Choral and Orchestral Conducting" to learn more.

Please note, this concert has no intermission; latecomer seating is about halfway through program. There are few tickets left for this highly anticipated concert.