[audience applauding]
♫ ♫ ♫ [slow orchestral music]
- One of the most beautiful things for conducting for me
is that it's not only one person giving a command
and everybody's following like a machine
but how to use all these intellegences
and all this potential which is sitting there.
We're somehow here to help them to play better.
- [Jesse] The four of us are definitely a family.
We have a great time together.
- We're all really big fans of each other
and we like to boost each other up.
- We spend a lot of time together
and so it's a very interesting process
because we all have very different backgrounds
and very different personalities.
But I feel very fortunate that I have them as colleagues
because they're all brilliant.
- Sometimes you see things and you think
I don't wanna do it that way
but I respect why they do that.
And I think that's really what it is about being
good colleagues is helping each other to find
the best version of themselves.
- Conducting program here is not about learning
how to give an upbeat.
That's one part too but it's seeing the rehearsals
at New York Philharmonic,
seeing rehearsals here at Juilliard.
- [Jane] I think one of the best things
about coming to Juilliard
has been the level of access that we have
to such high quality classical music.
- And to do it in New York City
which is a cultural capital of the world.
You just have the possibility to kind of evolve.
- [Jane] It's great working with Alan Gilbert.
He makes time for us.
We have at least two lessons a week when he's here
which is amazing given how busy he is.
- We are so fortunate to work with a musician of his caliber
and with a human being of his caliber.
- [Jesse] To be able to work with someone who's at the top
of their profession like he is
and at the same time willing to work with young musicians
like ourselves who are basically beginning the lifelong
process of becoming a conductor.
That's really special.
- [Jane] He's so detailed in his advice in his lessons
and what we can do physically
and then we also get into philosophical discussions
about what music is and what it means to be a conductor.
- Every lesson we have with him I feel like I'm delving
in to some new aspect of music-making
and classical music that I hadn't thought about before.
- And that's the weird thing of conducting
because you have to lead
but sometimes when it works the best no one feels
that they're being led.
- [Benjamin] The main part of the program is that
every Friday we conduct a lab orchestra which is comprised
of the musicians of The Juilliard School.
- [Gregor] I don't know whether there's any other place
in the world where you have this rare opportunity.
Not only an orchestra every week which already
is incredible but have an orchestra
of this level every week.
- [Jesse] That we're working with this very dedicated
and very generous group of musicians
who like us are learning their craft
and excited about music-making.
- In this setting instead of the main focus
being on the orchestra and what we need to fix
the focus is on the student conductor
and how they can achieve what they want from us.
All of us are learning together.
- I'm very happy that there's not this
far distance of here's the conductor
and there's the orchestra.
I feel really on a completely equal level.
- Each day the musicians each had a sheet of paper
and pencils on their stands.
We asked them to provide feedback and critique.
- It's very helpful and important for us
to know what the players think.
This is kind of still another teacher what we have
is the orchestra itself.
- Well for musicians it gives us sort of a unique
opportunity to get inside the head of a conductor.
- [Jane] They're always interested in how we're doing
and how we're conducting.
- [Benjamin] We first had a session on the Haydn and Mozart
back in September the very beginning of the semester.
And then we circled back to this repertoire
around the middle of November
and then zoomed in and focused very intensely.
- [Jane] We actually had four full rehearsals
that we led the orchestra.
And so we really gained insight into how we each
saw the different movements that we were doing.
- [Jesse] The rehearsal process is so critical you know
you approach it very rigorously and logically
like you know okay we have to get this softer here
or this you know in the right tempo and everyone together.
But then right before you go out on stage you know
it's about telling a story with the music.
- [Jane] Before a concert I found that I like to
do some jumping jacks, make sure that my arms
and my body are not going from being completely still
to having to conduct.
- [Gregor] A lot of the parts of the piece
swirl through your head and on the other side
you try to bring yourself down to connect with the earth,
connect with your body, connect with people
then in the moment when you get on to the stage.
- [Benjamin] So I just try to get in that place
where I can really make music with people.
[orchestra playing]
- [Gregor] It's absolutely a fulfilling moment.
You're so happy that it's over.
But on the other hand, it's almost sad that it's over.
The best thing is when you're living through
this beautiful musical moment.
- [Benjamin] For me especially at the point in time
that I've come to this program
it's completely transformative.
It is kind of a life-changing experience.
I have to say.
[triumphant orchestral music]