PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 103 “It took me a long time to realize how much music was embedded in me,” Mitch observes. Daunted by assuming the same occupation in which his family had been prominent and successful, “I shied away from it for a very long time.” He leveraged his cello mastery to take assistant conductor roles in small orchestras. Mitch explains that learning to conduct differs from honing his craft as a musician, in which practice is the key. “That doesn’t work as a conductor until you get up on the podium in front of an orchestra and fail into success, figuring out what works and what doesn’t.” On taking up the baton, Mitch’s skill and passion for conducting only magnified, as did his reputation. Bass player Jeff, who initially met Mitch at a guest conductor PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF JIM FUNG - PSO gig at the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, says his impressions have not altered since first downbeat. “I played under many conductors, and Mitch stands above all the others.” Why? His deep passion for the music, extraordinary knowledge of it and the ability to command and impart immediate respect, Jeff attests. KEEPING SCORE A conductor’s score, with perhaps 20 staves read simultaneously, can boggle a musician’s mind. Mere brain food for Mitch. “Score study is primary because I can read it and pretty much hear the music,” he says. Scrutinizing the score raises questions. Equipped with answers, Mitch comes to the first rehearsal and every succeeding one with clarity on how to shape the piece and ensure all the players work in unity. In a sense, he’s translating the composer’s emotional language to convey the story. Mitch notes, “Music is about artists telling something about themselves, about the composer, about life, about all the challenges and joys that we experience, to an audience.” Mitch draws the emotions from the composition as he sees them, uniting the composer, conductor and artist in three-part harmony. With its unique manner of storytelling, “orchestras have this vast palette of colors and shapes and power that no other musical ensemble has had in the history of music,” says Mitch. Jeff affirms that performers delight in “being in the Orchestrating Magic
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