Contact: Whitney Richter, Director of Marketing and Communications, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, 254-710-7539
Written by: Blake Thomas, Office of the Vice Provost for Research
WACO, Texas (Aug. 1, 2019) - For Stephen Heyde, the Mary Franks
Thompson Professor of Orchestral Studies in Baylor’s School of Music and the
university’s Conductor-in-Residence, leading a university symphony is about
more than just training musicians and presenting high-quality musical
performances. It involves elements of
history, physiology, and leadership development, culminating in an educational
and cultural experience that benefits musicians, audiences and the larger
community.
At first glance, it might seem strange to say that a
symphony conductor is someone who engages in research. And it’s easy to understand why. Most people see conductors when they are on
stage, leading a group of musicians. But
to attend a symphony and leave with the idea that conductors “only keep time”
during performances is akin to walking into a scientific conference and thinking
chemists or physicists “only present posters” on their chosen topics.
Indeed, just as the bulk of a laboratory scientist’s effort
happens long before the results of the work are made public, some of a
conductor’s most challenging work happens off-stage, months and even years
prior to a symphony’s first note. Conductors
are responsible for countless choices that impact the orchestra’s performance,
from selection of repertoire and interpretation of the pieces to matters as
subtle as how the musicians are arranged on the stage. Every decision along the way has an impact on
how the audience will hear the final performance, so the choices are not taken
lightly.
“A college orchestra is a capstone experience much like
working in a laboratory,” Heyde says. “Musicians assimilate all their knowledge and
skills they’ve developed before in their small ensembles and private lessons.”
The work of developing a university orchestra begins with
choosing the individuals who make up the orchestra through auditions. But unlike in a professional symphony, the
conductor of a university orchestra is not looking for just the top musicians.
“The educational perspective changes the formula,” Heyde explains. “We
don’t expect first-year students to be at the level of graduate students, so we
seek balance and look for students who have the capacity to contribute.”
Having selected the orchestra’s members, Heyde
turns his attention to choosing a repertoire that will showcase the talents of
the musicians while still providing opportunities for growth. Combining music
from different eras in different styles that showcase different musicians
allows the conductor to communicate with his student musicians about history
and culture in a way that no single piece of music could on its own.
Heyde believes strongly in the
power of music to communicate across languages and cultures. He points to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7,
composed during the 900-day siege of Leningrad by Nazi forces during WWII, as
one powerful example. The piece had its
debut in Leningrad, performed by the few musicians who remained in the city,
and the score was smuggled out and became a rallying cry for the Allied forces.
“The hopelessness of the people in Leningrad was overcome by
that symphony,” Heyde says. “The music lit a fire and strengthened the
desire to resist. Pieces like that allow
audiences to be nourished in the essence of what it was like to be human in
another time and place.”
Along with generating new knowledge and creating works that
enhance the human experience, one of the most important jobs of any academic is
education. For Heyde,
training the next generation of musicians and scholars goes hand-in-hand with
his own professional development. The
list of Heyde’s former students includes successful
musicians in virtually every genre, as well as 12 individuals who have gone on
to become professional conductors.
Beverly Everett says it was Heyde’s
influence and encouragement that helped her decide to pursue conducting. Everett, who is now conductor and music
director of both the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra and the Bemidji
Symphony Orchestra, entered college at Baylor as an organ major, intending to
study under the university’s organist in residence, Dr. Joyce Jones. She met Heyde for
the first time when she took a conducting class as part of the required coursework
for her major. By her junior year, she
had made the decision to pursue conducting as a career.
Everett, who received both her bachelor’s degree in 1992 and
a master’s in conducting in 1996 at Baylor, says Heyde’s
practical advice and encouragement provided her with inspiration that she still
relies on daily.
“He showed me the dedication that it takes to be a conductor,”
she recalls, “and he encouraged me to make sure that every day I do something
toward the goal of making music.”
