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Book Review: Beyond The Baton: What Every Conductor Needs to Know
Wittry, Diane. Beyond The Baton: What Every Conductor Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Conductors Guild Journal
Reviewed by David Sawtelle
Diane Wittry, conductor of the Allentown Symphony and the Norwalk Symphony, has written a book that both seasoned conductors and novice students may want to consider adding to their personal library. Wittry provides a path for the aspiring student who has decided to pursue a career as a conductor and she describes how to lay the necessary foundation for the successful job search and audition. For veteran conductors, this book does exactly what it claims to do. It takes the reader Beyond the Baton to consider and explore the inner workings of the modern-day professional orchestra and offers a picture of what every successful conductor must deal with on a daily basis.
Beyond the Baton is divided into six main sections. Chapter One, “Preparing for Success,” includes the basic topics relating to formal musical training, character development and charting a path. Chapter Two develops the idea that “there is no one path to success as a conductor” (p. 27) and illustrates this with interviews of several successful conductors. Chapters Three, Four, and Five address the question of how to secure a first job. They also focus on understanding the intricacies of artistic leadership and programming. In Chapter Six, “The People Factor,” Wittry reviews the communication skills essential in all businesses with topics inlcuding “Implementing the Artistic Plan,” “The Music Director’s Role with the Board,” “Rehearsal Techniques,” and “Union and Orchestra Relations.” Chapter Seven addresses the music director’s role when it comes to finances, fundraising, and creating a visible presence in the community. The book concludes with an extensive resource section. It provides valuable information for the fast-paced and often hectic schedule of a conductor.
As mentioned, the beginning of the book outlines the path to success and emphasizes that there is not just one path but many possible paths for a conductor to follow. To be successful, the path chosen must include a musical degree and character development. Before a position in a professional orchestra can be secured, a master’s degree at a high-quality university must be completed. During one’s developmental years, attending conferences and workshops should not be overlooked. These activities are needed to open the channels for networking and communicating with other conductors and musicians in general. People must know one’s name and that one is a conductor. Wittry writes that it is important to continue development as an instrumentalist and a working knowledge of strings, winds, percussion as well as piano proficiency is a given. As dedicated efforts are put into the study of scores, foreign languages, theory, conducting technique and performance, one must be cognizant of the importance of character development. On this subject, helpful suggestions are presented for serious consideration. When discovering the best path to follow, a conductor should start deciding what type of orchestra with which to be associated. Different orchestras are listed, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Chapter Two contains interviews with the distinguished American conductors Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano and JoAnn Falletta. They share details of their career paths and the challenges they encountered. They discuss specific topics such as “The Conductor’s Role,” “Skills Set,” “Management,” “Understanding Priorities,” and “Community Interaction.” Slatkin also talks about The National Conductors Institute, the program he established to bridge the gaps between conductors in the educational, amateur, and community levels who might be making a debut with a major full-time orchestra.
For the conductor who has completed the requirements of formal education or for the conductor who has just been hired, Chapter Three is of importance. Here are the steps in specific order needed for securing a position as musical director. Listed are the professional organizations that regularly announce job openings to their members. A conductor becomes known in the field by regularly applying for jobs and attending conferences. To help prepare for the interview and audition process, the author provides extensive and useful advice. The suggestions for compiling a successful press package are well-developed and highly detailed. Advice and tips are given for the live interview, the audition, and guest conducting opportunities. Among the most important items to deal with once a position has been secured, is negotiating the contract. This vital issue is covered in detail.
The focus of the book’s middle section is on the practical issues of running the orchestra during the first year of employment. Wittry relates her extensive experience every imaginable job-related topic. Not only does she explain many different issues but she gives practical advice on how best to handle them. Two full chapters cover the core topics of artistic leadership and artistic programming. Conductors will find the procedures for auditions, rehearsal tactics, and stage set-up quite helpful. There is a chapter dedicated to effective communication skills. The development of these skills is useful for several situations, e.g., motivating the orchestra or board of directors, programming restraints, and how to work efficiently with staff and personnel. Concluding discussions focus on the issues that are often overlooked in formal training. Some of these are working with budgets, finance, effective fundraising, rallying the community’s assets and establishing the orchestra’s presence in the community.
The final resource section includes some of the following categories: “Internet Resources and Forums,” “Networking Organizations,” “Directories,” “Magazines and “Journals,” “Music Purchasing,” “Rental Music Publishers,” “Pop Music Publishers,” “Special Collections,” “Training and Personal Development” and “Programming Resources.”
It can boggle the mind when one stops to consider all that a modern day conductor must deal with on a day-to-day basis. It has been suggested that no other profession offers greater challenges than that of the symphony conductor. Here, Diane Wittry generously brings to light a full complement of strategies to assist conductors throughout their careers. The book, written in a smooth and flowing common-sense style, is intended to be the close companion of the dedicated conductor to be used throughout ones career.
