28/09/2026
🎭 CONCERT COMPANION: What does the conductor actually do?
🎼 Ever watched an orchestra and wondered what the person waving the stick is actually doing?
Quite a lot, as it turns out! 😄
A conductor is the person who helps 80-ish musicians play as one giant musical instrument.
They keep the beat, cue musicians when to start, control the tempo, shape the dynamics and help bring out the character of the music. They rehearse the orchestra, spot things that aren't quite working and communicate how they want a particular passage to sound.
But conducting isn't just about keeping everyone together. A great conductor inspires and energises the orchestra, helping musicians respond to the music, to each other and to the moment. A gesture, a look or a movement can change the energy of an entire section — sometimes even the whole orchestra.
And that famous baton? It's mainly a very clear way of making the conductor's movements visible to a large orchestra. The hands do plenty of work too, indicating expression, volume, phrasing and sometimes giving very specific instructions to particular sections.
The musicians learn their notes. The conductor's job is to bring all those individual performances together into one coherent interpretation — and to inspire the musicians to give it their all.
So, hoping Dominic won't mind me saying this, think of him as part traffic controller, part musical architect, part motivator… and part very expressive metronome. 😉
And you'll see just how important that role is when our orchestra tackles the huge forces, contrasts and constantly changing colours of Holst's The Planets later in our concert. 🌌🎶
🎟️ Raphael Wallfisch Plays Elgar
📅 Sunday 18 October | 3pm
📍 Assembly Hall, Worthing
