Day 11: David Robertson

Today's morning rehearsal was our last rehearsal with Maestro Ross, Maestro Lee Mills (the assistant conductor), and Samuel Adams. They worked so hard to prepare us on this last day by giving us multiple perspectives on the music and making us undergo new ways of playing and listening to one another. At the end of the rehearsal, everyone scrambled to take pictures with them and I was so sad whenever I thought of not having another rehearsal with Maestro Ross.

But today we met Maestro David Robertson for the first time and went through the Bernstein, Samuel Adams, and Porgy and Bess with him! He was such a friendly heartwarming person with so much wisdom to offer to the orchestra. We all immediately liked him, and I noticed that the orchestra underwent a very noticeable change:

Maestro Robertson gave us a lot of his special insight, particularly for the Bernstein. He spoke about how we had a teenage spirit that no other orchestra he had worked with had, and that we could relate to the rebellious nature of the characters in the music a lot better.

He also spoke about how every performance is different -- and that his most favorite thing about orchestra was the spontaneous music-making that was going on. During rehearsals, one person might play one thing differently and affect the entire orchestra, often offering a new and fresh perspective on the music.

While all this amazing information was being shared, we also prepared for our From the Top taping that occurs tomorrow! It was so good seeing all the staff again and I am so excited for our performance!