How we break the silence is important.
The first notes at a concert. The first play in a football game. The first actions when we wake. What we wear to an audition (on either side).
They set the tone, they communicate to our audience, our opponents, ourselves what will come next.
There are so many choices, so many right answers.
Tonight, when I meet my ensemble for the first time, I’m going to start with:
“Hello! We are going to have an amazing year of music together!”
It’s confident, it’s optimistic, it shows our priorities, it emphasizes our group, it deemphasizes me as a director, it’s excited. And I’m optimistic that breaking the silence like that will be the butterfly’s wing flap that sets us on a magical trajectory together.