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Member Connections with Music Conductor Bill Bing

Just what does a music conductor actually do when standing in front of an orchestra? When they wave their arms around, does anyone really pay attention? And what makes conductors like Leonard Bernstein and Gustavo Dudamel so special?

Those were some of the questions answered at the latest Pasadena Village Member Connections on August 21 where new member Bill Bing took us behind the baton - and then handed each of us one. The community room was transformed into a rehearsal space. 

Kären Bagnard, who coordinates Member Connections, introduced Bill as a “local celebrity,” a description that seemed entirely appropriate. Bill was Director of Bands and Artist in Residence at Caltech for more than 35 years, conducting more than 250 concerts with the Caltech Jazz and Concert Bands. He also performed with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and has taught conducting at the graduate level at California State University at Northridge.

His students have gone on to play with everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day to the Pacific Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Bill has also published two trumpet method books. In other words, he knows a thing or two about making musicians make music.

But Bill wasn’t there simply to give us a lecture. He wanted us to understand what a conductor actually does - and then give it a try ourselves. A conductor, Bill explained, does much more than keep time. The conductor sets the tempo, controls dynamics, interprets the score, leads rehearsals and, most importantly, connects all the musicians into a single musical unit. “A conductor connects with the score in its totality,” Bill explained. “The best conductors present the orchestra, the conductor, and the performance of music as one complete unit.”

During rehearsal, conductors can appear to be taskmasters, stopping the music, correcting mistakes and working through difficult passages. But once the performance begins, something changes. Conductors often become more animated and emotionally connected to the music and the musicians.

Bill illustrated the possibilities by showing us videos of famous conductors, including Leonard Bernstein. In one remarkable example, Bernstein conducted an entire piece without moving his baton. He seemed to be conducting with little more than his facial expressions. Apparently, even eyebrows can have rhythm.

Bill explained that professional musicians essentially have “metronomes in their heads.” They know their parts cold. The conductor isn’t there to tell a trumpet player which notes to play. Instead, the conductor shapes the way all those individual parts fit together.

“How much freedom does a conductor have to change a piece?” Sharon Jarrett asked.

“You have to bring truth to the score,” Bill answered. “Most often we try to make adjustments that the composer would want.”

Then came the fun part.

Bill handed out miniature batons and had us stand up and conduct. He demonstrated the proper wrist movement and encouraged us not to be stiff. Soon the Community Room was filled with Villagers waving batons at a piece of music coming through the sound system.

Paula Rao looked at her baton and declared, “I feel like it’s my magic wand.”

I was next to Al Miller, who became a little too enthusiastic and poked me with his baton. No harm, no foul. Apparently, conducting has its occupational hazards.

Bill also had us work on breathing, explaining that breath is essential to music. Using “Abide With Me,” he showed us how conductors listen for the breathing spots where musical phrases begin and end.

The baton, Bill explained, is powerful, but so are the conductor’s hands and gestures. The left hand can express emotion or ask something specific of the orchestra.

“As a conductor I can start and stop the music,” Bill said. “A trumpet can’t do that.”

By the end, we had learned that conducting requires complete awareness of everything happening musically at once. It is part timing, part interpretation, part communication and - apparently - part magic wand.

When Bill finished, conversations broke out around the room. Some Villagers gathered around books of orchestral photographs, while others continued discussing conductors, music and the mysteries of what happens on that little podium.

Bill was funny, engaging and remarkably down-to-earth. His career has taken him from Pasadena to orchestras and musical stages around the world, yet he shared his experience with us as if we were old friends.

The Village is fortunate to have people like Bill Bing join us. And now, thanks to him, a roomful of Villagers knows exactly what to do if the LA Phil suddenly comes calling.

Just remember: flexible wrist.