AACA (Say: AACK-uh)

I can hardly believe our stay at Aspen is coming to an end. My orchestra, the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen Orchestra, has only two concerts remaining. Here's a photo of the orchestra rehearsing in Harris Hall.

The AACA orchestra is made of up of instrumentalists and conductors. Under the direction of David Zinman and Murry Sidlin, conducting students lead the orchestra through many works of the standard repertoire. Each Tuesday, the orchestra gives a free concert in the Benedict Music Tent, the Aspen Music Festival and School's main performance venue. In addition to preparing concerts, the AACA orchestra spends hours each week reading through repertoire for the betterment of the conductors and musicians alike. They also perform opera scenes in masterclasses with the Aspen Opera Theatre Center, and the orchestra reads the works of composers of the AMFS composition and film scoring programs.

AACA is both an orchestra and a conducting school; so, I am responsible for managing both aspects of the program. I thought I'd breakdown my responsibilities (with a little help from Rachel Hermanson, the 2005 Fellow-Manager of AACA).

Orchestra Manager duties:

- act as personnel manager by keeping attendance records and securing subs/extras as needed
- gather concert seating assignments from faculty, and post as rosters for students
- provide weekly schedules for the orchestra
- create rehearsal orders for concert rehearsals
- work with the library for all music needs
- work with the tech crew to make certain all rooms are set up for each service
- work with the stage crew to make certain the stage is set for the dress rehearsal and concert
- work with the artist services department to coordinate a guest's schedule with the orchestra they are working with
- work with the program staff to create weekly printed programs
- oversee the entire concert production, putting out any last-minute fires
- other duties as assigned (like managing an orchestra for the David Zinman Birthday Benefit Concert)

AACA Orchestra Manager duties:

- arrange score studies, technique checks, and video review sessions for the conductors
- gather repertoire reading seating assignments from faculty, and post as rosters for students
- create rehearsal orders for the repertoire reading sessions
- arrange for substitute musicians when conductors must be on the podium
- work with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin to determine the repertoire for the repertoire reading and technique check sessions
- work with Mr. Zinman and Mr. Sidlin to determine which conductors will conduct a certain piece or movement for concerts and repertoire reading sessions
- keep a running record of each conductor's podium time, as well as the number of pieces each has conducted
- organize three concerto competitions (the winners perform with the AACA orchestra)

This makes for one busy Fellow, but as the summer comes to a close, I am trying to enjoy Aspen as much as possible. When I'm not working, I attend concerts, eat at great restaurants, window shop, and enjoy the pool at my condo. Next stop: the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan!