Ensemble

In the world of music, we divide pieces into "solo" repertoire and "ensemble" repertoire. As a choral and orchestral conductor I exist in the "ensemble" part of the musical world. The music-making in which I participate always relies upon the combined efforts of more than one musician.
I recently experienced an ensemble effort that took the ideas of combined effort and collaboration to a new level for me. Last Saturday I was privileged to be in charge of conceiving and directing a worship service for people from twenty or more different denominational groups, and featuring singers, instrumentalists, dancers and actors from several churches and a university. If any of these people had acted within the stereotype usually applied to performers, it could have been a dysfunctional service. Instead, the people involved all acted unselfishly and brought about a service with great meaning and impact. The theme of the service was unity, and it was both modelled and described by the people leading the service.
This coming weekend I will be singing in a chorus of 235 in a performance of "Carmina Burana" with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. I am a member of the Birmingham Concert Chorale, which is conducted by Philip Copeland of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and we will be joined by the choirs of Samford University, Birmingham Southern College, and the University of Montevallo. All three of these schools have long-standing reputations of high quality, and their respective choral directors, Tim Banks, Lester Siegel, and Robert Wright, are well-respected. This could be another opportunity for well-known and highly accomplished conductors to all seek recognition and acclaim. But at our first rehearsal together last night, the opposite was the case. In fact, these kinds of events happen frequently in Birmingham, and it is alway refreshing to see that the area conductors are friends and colleagues who act in a mutually supportive way.
Birmingham has a great tradition of outstanding choral music in a variety of school, college, church and community settings. But it is remarkably free of any jealousy or negativity between the conductors who build these traditions. It is a pleasure to be part of this environment.
Ensemble singing is a pleasure, whether within one ensemble, or as part of a combination of existing ensembles, when the directors and singers have an attitude of collaboration and unselfishness.