A chance visit to Taupō by an American music educator has proved a boon for local conductor Monique Vossen.
Vossen who conducts the Taupō Concert Band and the Taupō Youth Windband, heard of Dr Thomas Willmann’s visit here to adjudicate in a national concert bands competition in Cambridge and invited him to town for a quick masterclass as he began his holidays afterwards.
Dr Willmann is a conductor, instrumentalist and composer/arranger and serves as the director of instrumental studies and is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Texas Wesleyan University.
He dropped into rehearsals for both bands on Wednesday (July 1).
“I picked up lots of tips and tricks from him, especially conducting technique, which was quite new to me,” says Vossen.
“I've been playing the flute since I was 10, but being a conductor is something that I'm learning more about, but I'm really enjoying it.”
One aspect of conducting she admits to being a bit less prepared for was his idea that the conductor is part of the show – leading not just the musicians but the audience to look towards this part or that in the band.
“He was really teaching me how to point out different areas of the concert band with bigger gestures to show the audience ‘Oh, listen to those strong trombones in that part or the percussion section and watch out for the brake drum’. All of these really cool instruments that we have, or more cowbell, you know, which every band needs more of, of course.
“People often ask: ‘what are you doing up there waving your arms?’ and there definitely is lots of counting time, and bringing people in, but there's quite a theatrical element to it as well... So you might see something new from me.”
The conductor’s role definitely is to help bring the music to life off the page, says Vossen, making the most of a composer’s indications on tempo, style, articulation – “for the musicians and the audience.”
Willmann’s PhD was around the use of breath and the voice to bring out different aspects of instrumental playing, she says.
“How you would sing a piece is how you would play it on an instrument, so we did a bit of singing in our rehearsal, which is a bit uncomfortable for instrumentalists, but it really did improve our sound after only a few moments… We'll be doing more of that, whether the band likes it or not.”
There is little comparison between the musicians he is working with and a small-town band like the Taupō Concert Band, says Vossen.
Taupō’s is a non-profit community band, she says, “whereas he is looking at getting $2 million in funding for starting up marching band in the States. But even so, he was very humble and gave us our support even though we're a much smaller fish than what he's dealing with over there.
“But he's really into teaching music education, which is also a passion of mine, so that was nice of him to share some of the things that he is into.”
His advice would definitely help the band in a couple of upcoming concerts, she says.
“We're looking forward to putting on a great show.”
