Losing faith in humanity…one person at a time

I love music. I also enjoy a good laugh. Recently, the opportunity to enjoy both presented itself to me via the comedy of Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean.

I watched one of his skits called The Conductor and decided to learn a bit more. What is the conductor actually doing with that baton on stage? Turns out the performance itself is the culmination of LOTS of hard work.

The conductor’s work is both creative and practical. He is the “face of the orchestra”, an ambassador of music.

The conductor must be familiar with every instrument used in a selected work. He must know every note played by every instrument. Just as an air traffic controller directs planes safely through busy airspace , the conductor guides each musician skillfully through an orchestral arrangement of music.

He knows precisely when each musician should enter the piece and keeps time, tempo and other subtle elements of music with the movements of his arms.

Watch Mr. Bean “conduct” in these two skits-

Then read this article to learn more about conductors behind the music.

Now for the real deal.

Here is a wonderful example of conductor as a passionate teacher. “Roni Porat conducting and presenting the Rite of Spring in a unique way with the Israel Phiharmonic”

Here is a young and talented group. A “third grader, as guest conductor of Kris Yenney’s Preparatory Orchestra (part of Ben Simon’s Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, PACO) for Handel’s “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” (from “Solomon” HWV 67) at a public performance in the Cubberley Little Theater (Palo Alto, CA) on February 6, 2009.”

Maybe those of you who know more about music would be a harsher judge, but my ears thought that was a lovely performance.

Here’s one more- Metallica & San Francisco Symphony Orchestra-Master Of Puppets

Enjoy!