A learning orchestra
From the concert hall it is always a beautiful sight: all those musicians who make music as one body. For those who don't know any better, it comes naturally. But making music at a high level requires a life of study. Professional musicians must be able to master a wide repertoire in a short time. They practice their parts at home to be well prepared for rehearsals. There they work together with the conductor on the balance, the dynamics, and the phrasing. In doing so, they can fall back on years of experience on their instrument, in listening to each other and in interpreting a diverse repertoire.
Those who only look at the stage do not see the work behind the scenes. An orchestra is nothing without the staff that creates the conditions to be able to make music. Programming, planning, marketing, logistics, management, projects involving education and other social sectors – they are as indispensable as experienced links in the organization of a symphony orchestra.
An orchestra such as the philharmonie zuidnederland that wants to renew itself, that responds to the changes in the world outside the concert hall, knows that it has to look beyond everyday experience and routines. It must be able to learn new things. How does an orchestra learn? This question is central to a project that the orchestra is carrying out this season with the MCICM.
In recent months, musicians, staff members and researchers have mapped out what the orchestra should learn about. How can we learn from each other and make better use of each other's knowledge and experience? How do we view ourselves and our concerts with a constructive critical eye? How do we organize our special projects in such a way that the process is transparent to everyone? And how do we seek new connections with our audience? Questions like these form the basis for ten exercises for orchestral practice. Those exercises, or etudes as they are called in music, are being made and performed this season.
An example of such an etude in the making is the public rehearsal. In its current form, Friends of Philharmonic South Netherlands get a glimpse behind the scenes of the rehearsal process. They remain passive listeners. Is it possible to design such a public rehearsal in such a way that the bond between orchestra and audience is strengthened, that the artistic quality of the orchestra is increased because the orchestra and audience learn from and with each other? What would such a rehearsal look like? From the hall, but also from the stage and from behind the scenes. We will investigate that in the near future. To be continued.
Peter Peters en Ties van de Werff
Researchers at MCICM
