Whenever I go to conferences, I’m always amazed by the sophisticated, polished music-making delivered by the choirs my colleagues conduct.
And I also try to remind myself: you are viewing a cropped frame.
A photographer or filmmaker crops her image to show what she wants you to see. She cuts out out-of-focus edges, and places the subject of the image in the right part of the frame to draw your attention. She doesn’t show you the entire 360º view from her camera–just the portion she wants you to see. And she doesn’t show you every image; just the best ones she captured.
For my own choir, I hear the entire process from first sight reading to final performance attempt. I know every weak moment, and know where we’ve sidestepped musical danger or cheated on the ideal phrasing for the sake of a breath. I see the cropping and know what’s just outside the frame.
For the choirs I hear, it is my privilege to hear performances as carefully cropped as they can be. My colleagues have taken care to shape the music in pleasing ways, and have made the same kinds of cropping decisions I make with my choirs.
It’s a mistake to see an artful performance and feel like you can’t meet their standards, because you can see your crop marks but you can’t see theirs. Recognize their artistry, and appreciate the care they took in cropping their performance. Then go home and do the same.