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Conducting During CO
Conducting During COVID: What is possible and how has the role of the conductor changed?
ID: What is possible and

real-time with the student to address was challenging, and to ask ques- distance, it remains to be seen how
successes and challenges. While tions. When teaching a group of persistent these technological solu-
not always ideal, conducting along conducting students over video con- tions will be when the necessity of
to recordings can also be a viable ferencing, it may be useful for the the pandemic recedes. Individual
way to see the gesture in action. In teacher to have a large monitor or recordings like those used for virtual
a webinar presented by NCCO in a second monitor so they can more choir can certainly be instructive by
March 2020, Deanna Joseph noted easily see each conducting student. demonstrating mastery of a voice
that having students sing or speak Using “speaker view” instead of part individually and providing the
the music while they conduct can “gallery view” or “pinning” the stu- conductor with a tool for individual
also help create the connection be- dent makes it easier to focus on the assessment. Video and audio edit-
tween music making and gesture. 18 student who is conducting while still ing skills gained during this period
Undergraduate conducting being able to monitor the rest of the by conductors could certainly help
classes are successfully being deliv- class. conductors find new ways to market

ered over video conferencing. The The conducting teacher may and promote their ensembles across
conducting teacher can begin by wish to supplement video confer- social media, but the technological
modeling the conducting exercise encing classes with asynchronous skills of live online collaboration
over video, asking the students to video uploads, where students make or virtual choir production may be

conduct along with them, and ob- video recordings of themselves con- specific to this time.
serving the students’ conducting ducting the musical excerpt between
gestures and providing feedback. classes for classmate and/or teacher
Students can ask questions if any- feedback. An online platform such Conclusion
thing is unclear. The teacher may as Flipgrid may facilitate this pro- Where we meet our ensembles
wish to stream a recording of the cess. This way, the students must during this pandemic has shifted
musical excerpt so students are continue to engage with the mu- dramatically, and even as our choirs
more familiar with how the music sical material between classes and return in masked outdoor distant
sounds. Then, students can take can incorporate feedback into their rehearsals or in parking garages or
turns conducting the class. The next video each week. One plus side parked cars, the online format for
class will need to mute their micro- to responding to student videos is many choirs remains a challenging
phones, but can still sing or play that the teacher can go back and re- space to use to connect with our
along with their classmate’s con- watch the student’s conducting as singers. While it is true that our
ducting gestures and can provide many times as is necessary to give years of study to perfect a gestural
feedback on what went well and proper feedback, which is harder to vocabulary may seem moot in these
what could be improved. do in a live class setting. spaces, fundamentally, the roles
To allow for more students Wh en attempting to provide and responsibilities of the conduc-
conducting at the same time, the opportunities for experience in tor have not lost their relevance.
teacher may wish to use video front of an ensemble, schools of Now more than ever, our ability
breakout rooms to put students into music with graduate programs in to lead and inspire is necessary for

small groups so they can each get conducting may find that they are our singers to make music togeth-
a chance to conduct and receive relying on their graduate students er. The way that we problem-solve
feedback from their classmates. to manage much of the new tech- in rehearsal is still eff ective and
The teacher can navigate between nology being implemented to run prepares us for the challenges of
breakout rooms to observe students rehearsals and to create virtual problem-solving the technology, the
and provide feedback as well. Then choir projects. While this may help latency, the social isolation, and the
the class can come back together these conductors meet the current volatile world that we seek to bring
and discuss what went well, what challenge of running choir from a beauty into. While our downbeat

72 CHORAL JOURNAL April 2021 Volume 61 Number 9