Beginning a music project with an unknown group can be a bit nerve racking at times. I guess it is human nature, you are entering a group where the other people already know each other, or have played with each other many times and you are entering as a guest. It is a feeling that is amplified further if you are joining as a leader rather than a tutti member. Sometimes, it can be a great experience as the group welcomes you, and they take your direction on board with little fuss. Other times, it is a viscous balancing of temperaments and petty power plays...

In the world of music, there can always be the initial welcome dance. People feeling each other out to see where they stand in the pecking order of things, asking who you played with, who your teachers were, what ensembles do you belong to with a touch of name dropping liberally spread here and there.... I hate this bit with a passion, and often flat out (but in a friendly manner) refuse to play the game. I won't say anything about my background, and prefer to let my playing do the speaking. I'm happy to listen to others tell me about their impressive CV's but I just have no interest in doing the dance for myself!

To me it is a sign of immaturity and petty power politics, with a splash of insecurity. I know where they are coming from, every performer is bravado on the outside with a roiling mess of insecurity and fear of judgement on the inside. How everyone handles and deals with that problem is an individual thing, some like to show up others, others retreat into a protective cocoon. Me, I'm not sure, I think I handle it well enough so that people on the outside perceive a quiet confidence... but this is not a thing that you can judge for yourself!

The situation

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I have a friend who I used to play with quite often when we were younger, however our lives and studies took us to different places. I always enjoyed playing with him, and when I have the time, I join him when he invites me to play a concert with him. Money and travel isn't a consideration for this, it is just a nice chance to meet up with a friend, catch up and play some music together!

So, with this down as a basic starting point, I have to say, he is not the most practical of planners. Often his dreams and ideas are larger than the planning part of the project. Which has led to this unusual situation this weekend of a large group playing a difficult programme for a concert with the most minimal of rehearsals. Normally, in a well established group of high level players that regularly plays together, you would expect a day or two days of rehearsal for this sort of programme. For a less experienced group, it would be on the order or 3 or 4 days. My dear friend has put us down for a bit over half a day!

So, needless to say, we are going to have to hit the ground running. There will be many things that will have to be done as best as they can given the time constraints. I know he has a propensity to get bogged down in details, so I guess it will be my job to keep things moving and agile, fixing problems that can be fixed and minimising problems that can't, whilst keeping the group focussed and morale high. It appears that always is my job...

It can be a bit of a tricky thing to do all of this, whilst dealing with the musical and technical demands of my own part, but that is the job of the concertmaster. Part cheerleader, part counselor, part musician, part soloist... juggling the demands and egos of the musicians whilst directing the demands of the music. Equal parts coercion, inspiration, appeasement with the occasional touch of manipulation?

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It really feels like a game of herding cats (if you know musicians, they are like little children at times!) towards a common goal. Everyone want the same thing (a great performance), but the path is always more complicated than it needs to be! Every tiny thing can be a mountain that is impossible, people will feel put out because the general consensus of the group was against their particular pet idea. This is not helped by the lack of time to fully listen and experiment with ideas that people might have, leading to some feeling disconnected and feeling like their ideas were unheard or not respected.

Or maybe I'm worrying too much, my wife tells me that it will all be fine... that I'm prepared and that everything usually goes well. Most of the time I'm not nervous about these things, just this time I am... Needless to say, if I'm nervous, I know that others will be more nervous than me. So, it is in my interests to keep a confident and cheerful front, to help others to keep on top of their worries, regardless of what I might be feeling inside!