Perspective

Part of the conductor’s job is to be able to see from every perspective.

See from the singer’s perspective. The composer’s perspective. The audience’s perspective. (Every audience’s perspective, from the grandparent to the 6-year-old granddaughter.) The advisory board’s perspective.

See, too, from each singer’s distinct perspective. A new member of the ensemble, treading hard to keep her head above water, is going to have a vastly different perspective from a longtime veteran, who has seen it and done it all before.

To be able to maintain your own perspective and each of these other perspectives is the work of a day and the work of a lifetime for a conductor.