The audience at Roy Thomson Hall on the evening of April 23 was treated to a master class in conducting. The event was part of the Women in Musical Leadership (WML) program, an initiative of Tapestry Opera. The three-year program aims to give the next generation of women and non-binary conductors a jump start in their professional careers. To that end, Tapestry has created a network of partner organizations.
In his opening remarks, Tapestry Opera’s Artistic Director Michael Hidetoshi Mori explained the impetus behind WML. As he noted, he’d gone to a Canadian music school where a sizable percentage of the graduates were women. Yet, when it comes to professional careers as leaders in the industry, they were very few and far between.
“This just didn’t feel right,” he said.
The program is now in its fourth year, with one cohort of graduates already, and partnerships with 25 music organizations from coast to coast.
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is the lead partner in the program, and both the orchestra and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno were on hand to allow three of the current participants to test drive a world class ensemble as conductors.
Mark Williams, Beck Family Chief Executive Officer of the TSO, called the initiative “incredibly important work”.
As each conductor took to the podium, they led the orchestra through a movement of a symphony while Gimeno at first observed, then offered advice. Both the conductors and Gimeno were miked, which meant that the audience could listen to both the advice and their responses.
As was noted, only three of the current four participants were in the hall. Maria Fuller, a Year 2 Cohort, was in Poland making her conducting debut in that country — proof of the success of the organization.
The Conductors
“It’s like hopping on a Ferrari for the first time!” declared Naomi Woo, the first conductor to head to the podium.
Naomi Woo was the 2022 winner of the Canada Council’s Virginia Parker Prize. The Canadian conductor and pianist was the assistant conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for three years. Following that tenure, she joined the Orchestre Métropolitain Montréal as Artistic Partner from the 2023-24 season, and the Philadelphia Orchestra as assistant conductor for the 24-25 season. Naomi was chosen by her mentor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, as a member of the Orchestre Métropolitain’s inaugural orchestral conducting academy.
She earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she studied as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Previously, Naomi studied mathematics, philosophy, and music at Yale College, the Yale School of Music, and Université de Montréal.
She is currently the Music Director of NYO Canada.
“Thank you for coming back!” Monica Chen told the orchestra as they took up their places after a short break.
Monica Chen is the RBC Assistant Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as well as Music Director of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra and Sistema Winnipeg program. She has been working with Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2021, after her selection as a conducting fellow in the inaugural year of Orchestre Métropolitain’s Conducting Academy.
Monica holds two Masters degrees, one in Orchestral Conducting from UBC, and the other in violin performance from Indiana University.
Chinese-Canadian conductor Kelly Lin is the founder and Artistic Director of Montréal-based Ensemble Lagom. She earned her Master’s degree in orchestral conducting from McGill University, and received the Hnatyshyn Foundation – Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting.
She has worked with orchestras and ensembles across Canada and beyond, and as a musician, has performed at Toronto Summer Music, Ottawa Chamberfest, and other prominent music festivals.
The Fine Art Of Conducting An Orchestra
As Mark Williams pointed out in his opening remarks to the audience, “This is a great opportunity to find out about the great mystery of conducting.”
There were many insights to be gleaned, even from the audience’s perspective.
Gestures are crucial, both the timing and the nature — vertical or horizontal? Marking time, or conveying the emotion? Where are those gestures directed?
“How can I help? Who needs me?” Gimeno coached.
It’s about anticipating the next phrase, and maintaining a balance between helping and intervening too much during challenging passages. It’s as necessary to trust the musicians as it is to support them.
“Don’t get too involved emotionally,” Gustavo advised. But also, “Somehow, be there for everyone.”
His comments were polite, while pertinent.
“Thank you, but are you happy with the last three bars from the violas?” he asked at one point. (Spoiler alert: the answer should be ‘no’.)
Gimeno has mastered the art of accentuating the positive.
“There were some beautiful moments,” he said — after performance of a long section.
Confidence is also important.
“Let’s be optimistic,” he advised.
With each of the conductors, he worked on different areas to fine tune their approach, tackling everything from movements and posture to methods of communication.
He asked all three to describe the various passages and phrases in words in order to capture their emotions and essence. More than the technical aspects, it’s the soul of the music that needs to come through the performance.
“That’s when the magic works.”
Kudos to all three conductors for maintaining their poise, and their hard work during what must have been a nerve wracking experience.
- Find out more about the Women In Musical Leadership program [HERE].
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