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What question do you keep coming back to in your arts practice?
“The question I keep coming back to the most is “Whom is this for?”. This question constantly has me shuffling between forces: “It is for – the audience / the performers / myself / an education process / the art itself / the good of a community / for history or posterity”. Knowing which of these may have priority in any particular project impacts my decision-making for the process, the work itself and eventual outcomes. It also helps motivate or inspire as a conductor or musical director. Finding ways where the work is meant for more than just one or two of these forces combined – where audience, performer, conductor and community together feel some sort of impact, whether large or small – is always a dream.”
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How does your arts practice allow you to respond creatively to conflict/crisis around you?
“It allows me to do so in 2 ways – Firstly, through mindful or specific programming of repertoire. Secondly, through organising collaborations for performance with targeted groups. A large part of the joy of choral music is the social aspect – Singing or playing music together often can bring people in ways inexplicable. This especially helps us build bridges across communities, get to learn about a crisis or conflict up close if we haven’t experienced it directly, show solidarity, and help voice the cause.”
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What do you enjoy most about the process of creating new work and what recurring challenges do you encounter?
“The things I enjoy the most have got to do with the art form itself. There is nothing more I love than walking into a room full of people who are willing to sit down and sing in harmony with each other – it moves me every single time. Another joy is watching the musical progress and evolution from start to end – Sometimes this process may take months and other times it may be just a few hours of work, depending on the group. As a conductor, I find that one can influence the energy of the group while working, and this is always a very intriguing aspect. It is both an enjoyment and a challenge for a conductor to lead a group through inspiration rather than pure authority. Challenges are always other technicalities – finding suitable repertoire for the group in question, musical literacy issues like reading sheet music, taking care of the singers vocal health, keeping up motivation in long-form process over months, and of course – budgeting!”
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