SBBA Conducting Course, give us more!
Some of the conductiing students with the British Open Shield and the William Beardmore Shield
from the West of Scotland Band Association. Both were sponsored by William Beardmore and this is the first time the have been together, both very valuable.
Sure foundations for brass band conductors in Perth
There were 36 brass band conductors of all ages and experience present in Perth College for the inaugural SBBA Foundation Course in Brass Band Conducting, 16 & 17 October. Course Director Roger Webster and SBBA Development Officer Alan Edmond assembled an expert team of tutors offering wide ranging skills and a wealth of experience. The principal conductor was Ian Porthouse, fresh from his success at the British Open Championships with the Tredegar Band. Joining him was the prolific brass band composer Philip Sparke and the conductor and presenter of BBC Radio 2's Listen to the Band, Frank Renton. One of the delegates, Martyn Ramsay reflects on the events of the weekend.
The opening session on Saturday 16th focussed on Sparke's virtuoso work Music for Battle Creek and the Kirkintilloch Band. Four brave volunteers were given sections of the opening movement to conduct under the guidance of Ian Porthouse, who gave concise and constructive feedback. In the afternoon's split session, two groups went to work on different and more focused modules. Frank Renton worked in more detail on conducting technique with three more volunteers, this time using the beautiful but demanding middle section of Music for Battle Creek. Meanwhile, Dr. Webster hosted a session on performance psychology, his specialist subject. He explored issues such as dealing with difficult players in a band, contest nerves and the conductor's own mentality in the band room and
on stage.
To end the afternoon, Frank Renton, with the Kirkintilloch Band, focussed on concert presentation skills, sharing insights from his long and varied career as well as highlighting errors that are conductors often commit - although his assertion that any new conductor should not wear jeans and a t-shirt to a rehearsal was perhaps not widely accepted in the room.
In Saturday's final session Philip Sparke's focus on why and how brass bands compete generated a lively debate, including attitudes to part-swapping and re-scoring by conductors.
For the second day, Kirkintilloch Band was replaced by a select group from the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS), as the delegates were asked to focus on conducting youth and lower section bands. Throughout the day Ian Porthouse put a larger selection of volunteer delegates through their paces on Sandy Smith's arrangement of Valero, Wilfred Heaton's March Praise and a beautiful new piece from the Tredegar Band entitled Smile. With more time in front of the band (and no group activity), the conductors were able to work in more detail with this young, talented group of musicians. It was clear that a different approach was required for this ensemble. The four volunteers in the afternoon session were analysed on their conducting by Ian and given feedback on their whole presentation by Frank, both invaluable lessons for new conductors to take with them as they make their early steps on the concert stage.
Two of the course tutors led 45- minute question and answer sessions during the day. With adjudication of brass band contests being such a hot topic at the moment, it was no surprise that the issue was debated with Frank Renton, an outspoken voice on the subject in recent years. In his own inimitable way Frank shared his views on the current debates within the brass band world: open adjudication is a must, criteria-based marking is of no interest and outside musical influences should be welcomed into our judging system. He also explored the intellectual process of preparing a test piece performance which, he regarded, should reflect the conductor's mind and not be tailored to suit the minds of the judges.
To bring the weekend to a close, Philip Sparke hosted a session focussing on the relationship between conductor and composer. Perhaps because of his popularity and influence in banding circles, the discussion moved on to his own influences and favourites. Although very helpful in explaining which musical instructions should be strictly adhered to and which (the mystical '25 per cent' ) can be left to interpretation, he was more guarded with questions that were directly related to himself and his musical preferences.
SBBA's Foundation Conducting Course was very rewarding to all that were present. Even those who chose not to get up in front of either band will have certainly picked up some valuable insights from watching others and participating in the various discussions. For those lucky enough to receive a 15 minute one-to-one session with one of the tutors, it was worth the £30 course fee alone. SBBA should be very proud of this start to its development of conductors. The two bands were excellent, the college facilities were perfect and the tutors superb. The delegates were left asking what next? The simple answer is that it's really up to them.
