How do you decide your demeanor with an ensemble?
Let’s be clear, nailing the correct rhythm on bar 37 is not what will matter in 10 years.
What will matter in 10 years is the connections made, the friendships built. What will matter in 10 years is the feeling you get when you remember your time in the ensemble. It’s the memories made, it’s the experiences shared.
What will matter in 10 years is the humanity.
Does that mean that nailing that rhythm isn’t important? Of course it doesn’t – the music is the thing and we must serve it as deeply as we can.
It just means that how I correct the rhythms, how I lead the ensemble should be informed not by my desire for correct rhythms, but by my desire to affect the things that will matter years from now.