by Kurt Knecht | May 9, 2013 | Uncategorized
I’ve written on this topic before, but it’s another great and simple rule for conductors. Don’t be an ass. If you didn’t get the memo, the days of the Toscanini type of tyrant conductor are over. For people like Ricardo Muti, it sometimes takes...
by Kurt Knecht | May 8, 2013 | Uncategorized
Please don’t sing while your conducting. I think conductors who specialize in choral music are more guilty of this than others. The singing conductor, however, is unfortunately not exclusively limited to choir directors. Many instrumentalists know the odd and...
by Kurt Knecht | May 8, 2013 | Uncategorized
Here is a great rule. Listen to your ensemble and practice the sections of the music that need work. When you actually work to listen to your ensemble, it places accountability on them. They will work harder because they know that someone is working very hard to pay...
by Kurt Knecht | May 7, 2013 | Uncategorized
When you are dealing with professional musicians, the educational component is still present, but your demeanor and approach need to be different. With professionals, you need to communicate what you want, but you must also give them the space and respect to create...
by Kurt Knecht | May 5, 2013 | Uncategorized
Here is an absolute rule that is constantly broken. In an educational context, it is absolutely necessary when asking a student to do something to give him or her the tools required for accomplishing the task. Most often, this takes the form of a practicing strategy.I...
by Kurt Knecht | May 4, 2013 | Uncategorized
Stop talking so much. Seriously. Stop talking so much. If you are talking, the ensemble is not rehearsing. I once played for a conductor who was perplexed that the ensemble was not learning music very quickly. The conductor said to me, “I don’t...
by Kurt Knecht | May 3, 2013 | bg, Uncategorized
If there is anything that can make you better at doing something, it is watching someone else do it inefficiently. Of course, prolonged observation of poor practice is no guarantee that you will actually get better at something yourself. It may just turn you into the...
by Kurt Knecht | Mar 21, 2013 | Uncategorized
On Sunday, the fabulous young organist, Wyatt Smith, premiered my new organ piece the “Missouri Sonata”. Wyatt is an amazing young organist, and if you don’t know about him yet, you will eventual learn about him. One of the amazing things about...
by Kurt Knecht | Mar 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
I may very well risk the lives of both myself and 41 of my compatriots, but I noticed something this week at ACDA Dallas. There is a certain look you need to make it into the upper echelon of the choral conducting world. Glasses, facial hair, and a...
by Kurt Knecht | Mar 16, 2013 | Uncategorized
There is a popular misunderstanding of the Romantic movement that goes like this: In the Classical era, everybody just played stuff, and then one day Beethoven discovered feelings. Beethoven invented playing with emotion, and then Liszt perfected the technique until...
by Kurt Knecht | Mar 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
I think there are some things that younger composers should know. Showing up and walking around ACDA reminds me of some of the rules I use. Here are a few of the guidelines I use. Take them and make a list of your own.1. Unlike the cutthroat world of pianists,...
by Kurt Knecht | Mar 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
Today I had the great privilege of spending most of the day at St. Mark’s School of Texas. The school is an amazing place. They have astounding facilities including a fabulous chapel and a new Letourneau organ on the way. I am in Dallas for the ACDA...
Recent Comments