From rehearsal to the Stage

So this semester I am having multiple works being performed and one of them I will have to organize and rehearse the performers myself. All this got me thinking about the process we as composers do when getting a piece performed and made me think of the following questions:

When you are asking people to perform a piece of yours, are you very specific as to how you get or the level of the playing skills, or to do take the "what ever performer I can get" approach?

When you have a performer, how involved are you in the process of them learning the piece? Do you provide "mock up" recordings, walk them through the piece, or allow them to learn the piece on their own as if it is any other piece?

If the piece is for a large ensemble, are you involved in the rehearsal process or do you prefer not to be present for most of the rehearsals?

and a bonus optional question that is a little off topic:

Even if you have performers willing to perform your piece, do you still prefer to perform your own works?

1) Get the best performers you can - that may mean they are willing to put in the extra work if they are not near or at top caliber.

2) Best way is to get a group of composers together for performers to read the pieces first THEN with performers input on suggestions to make it more playable or better use of the instruments capabilities, revise. Usually when you approach them to perform the pieces done in the workshop they are far more willing as they participated in the composition process.

3) Mock ups are OK if time is pressing.

4) I prefer to be present for the first rehearsal and that's it - depends though on whether this is the first time they see the music or not - that is why I like to do 2) beforehand.

5) No - I prefer to sit back and hear what performers will do to recreate my piece as I won't live forever. Plus I can play only piano and organ ...

I'm improving composerorganists number system and turning it into a list!

1. Within a band, I'm specific as to who plays certain parts. I'm willing to go outside the band if I need a guest performer but I prefer to stick with the players I have.
   
2. Interesting question. One of my friend's is definitely the type to email all of us a recording of this piece days in advance of our first rehearsal. Personally, I let them learn notes and rhythms first and then I suggest the proper phrasing, style, and interpretation. I try not to be too uptight about it because I don't want to annoy my players.
   
3. Totally involved. In the case of my first jazz band arrangement, I stood alongside the conductor making notes and suggestions as we went along. I didn't write a lot of directions into the piece so I wanted to explicitly tell them what I wanted.
   
4. Depends how challenging and personal the work is to me. For the jazz band arrangement, I got another jazz pianist to do it because he solos like a BEAST and I needed a beastly solo. For my solo piano pieces, I'd much rather play them myself. It's more convenient since I don't have to look for somebody to play it and since I don't have to describe how I want everything done.
   

Interesting topic plutokat!

Peace on Earth,

-John

I'm ignoring the numbering system!!

Do whatever you need to do to ensure YOU get the outcome you expect/want/need/deserve.

Find the BEST musicians you can - musicians appropriate for YOUR music, ones who share a similar aesthetic and musical goals. Find musicians who can execute what you NEED from them, with minimal instruction and interaction/explanation. If you need improvisiors, hire improvisors; if you need virtuosos, hire virtuosos. If it's important, go out of pocket and hire a ringer (pro's are people too...generally very down-to-earth and are often easier to deal with than students or amateurs)

Go to as many rehearsals as you see fit - it YOUR music, you deserve to see it performed as well as possible. If the musicians are respectful and act professionally (presumably, they are aspiring to be professionals) then you'll get no guff. Stick to you guns. Don't be an donkey, but know what you want and ask for it. Don't be afraid to speak up if something's not right. Get the tempos right, dynamics - the devil's in the details.

Now, while I say get the best - there WILL come a time when someone will get all-up-in-yr-grill and try and disagree. If you can, FIRE THEM. If not, give the part to someone else. (Nothing takes a smug violinist down a couple pegs when you ask them to pass back their part and hand it straight to someone else).

Be professional. Be courteous. Be confidant.

Mock-ups will help - especially with minimal rehearsal. They can hear instantly where you're aiming...it'll help focus everything. ALSO, be specific in your parts. Get as much information as necessary on the page. I LOVE plain english explanations - if you want it to sound like a frigging "CAR CRASH", say so! Also, make sure your parts are accurate and correct - nothing will botch it and waste rehearsal time like finding out the horn parts didn't transpose properly.

...

:)

/me breaks with tradition and uses quotes.

When you are asking people to perform a piece of yours, are you very specific as to how you get or the level of the playing skills, or to do take the "what ever performer I can get" approach?

Both. When the performers aren't intelligent enough (or ignorant) to add their own interpretation, I take a greater role in performance. If the players know what they're doing, I mostly let them sort it out on their own, though I stay involved throughout the entire process. It is folly just to stand on the sidelines IMO because it is your piece and you should correct any problems that arise in the moment. I always take suggestions from players (esp. on espressive matters) and allow them to make something of the music. This happened with my piece "To Jonnie" in both the orchestra and string quartet version. The girls and orchestra made great music because I let the go free to a place they could go. I didn't know that place, they did, so I allowed them to go there. Sometimes I'm astonished I even wrote those notes because it did come together so nicely simply because I involved myself with the groups while letting them express themselves at the same time.

When you have a performer, how involved are you in the process of them learning the piece? Do you provide "mock up" recordings, walk them through the piece, or allow them to learn the piece on their own as if it is any other piece?

I rarely perform my own works aside from conducting these days. I almost always provide mock-ups especially if the musicians are of the unintelligent type mentioned above. Also, if we're short on rehearsals, I'll do a mock-up. Both instances were the case for the recent premiere of "Our Way". I "forced" the orchestra to listen to the piece on my website. How many actually listened I don't really know...

If the piece is for a large ensemble, are you involved in the rehearsal process or do you prefer not to be present for most of the rehearsals?

I want to be at every single one again because of correcting problems and/or suggesting things. Also, if I'm conducting, naturally I'm going to be at every rehearsal. The huge advantage this gives is the ability to update and revise the piece in real time. If I find a section of the piece not working with a particular ensemble (if because its too hard or just a lack of chemistry or whatever), I'll revise it, cut it, write something else in its place etc. If you have the luxury of a few weeks of rehearsals, this becomes critical to the successful performance of a work, esp. by school orchestras.

Even if you have performers willing to perform your piece, do you still prefer to perform your own works?

No. I'm not a "performer" I'm a composer. I will gladly give up the reigns to someone better than me so I can focus on just writing the notes. This happened two years ago when I had a jazz quartet piece, "Blue Variants on a Riff", written for Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba and Drums. I could have easily played the trombone part but decided against it because the guy who was going to play was really good, much better than I was. I wanted the best performance possible. And since I was involved at all the rehearsals and there every step of the way, I essentially was performing it just vicariously though others. That's the ideal relationship that a composer and performer should have. Of course, that's in an ideal world and often there simply isn't enough time for that relationship to develop and gel. But even a little bit of that is better than nothing.