Author: Tsukumo

I sang with San Francisco Symphony and Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas on Friday, November 14.

A little bit of a background: I sing in the UMS Choral Union, a 175-voice choir that performs for orchestral works with choir. I have enjoyed the relaxed yet productive atmosphere in which I get to meet adults from the greater Detroit area and students across disciplines, not to mention the opportunity to work with Dr. Jerry Blackstone, a Grammy-winning conductor. Choral Union was selected to sing with the San Francisco Symphony, which is making a tour around the U.S. to celebrate Michael Tilson Thomas’s 70th birthday.

Rehearsals leading up to this performance were arduous. The chorus parts for Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé are ruthlessly difficult, with lots of unusual leaps and chromatic intervals. I thought we would never be ready. I was intimidated. It’s that Michael Tilson Thomas (or MTT, as people call him). It’s that MTT that has thrown cough drops at the audience. It’s that MTT that has stopped the performance to get rid of a restless child. It’s that MTT that our choral director — Dr. Jerry Blackstone — warned us that “compared to MTT, I’m a kitty.” I honestly didn’t know what to expect.

However, the man that came on the podium at 9:45am on Friday — round glasses, blue down vest, and a casual smile — did not look like the stubborn person I was imagining from all these stories. Sure, maybe he wasn’t the friendliest and most welcoming person. But he didn’t look like he hated us for being amateurs. Phew!

And so the dress rehearsal started. He took little time socializing with us; instead, he effectively used each and every minute to run through each and every section that the choir sings, and made sure the choir’s style matched his expectations. He was articulate about what he wanted, and the choir did our best to reciprocate what is asked.

What were we singing, you may ask? Because Ravel treats the choir like an instrument, Daphnis et Chloé actually doesn’t have any words. Sheet music tells us either to hum or to sing “À——-” …and that’s it. Easy enough? Not really. The vowel “À——-” can be executed in many different ways, and in fact, we ended up with at least 4 different interpretations on “À——-”: “Ahh,” “Oh,” “Ooh,” “Haah,” “Yah.” It took some serious artistic vision to choose which vowel color to use where, which was what MTT was trying to convey to us in just over an hour.

After 8 or so hours, we stood on the same risers with our concert clothes and gave the performance. As I got to see MTT from the prime spot, it was intriguing to see music happening. The orchestra played exactly what I would imagine an orchestra to sound like based on MTT’s conducting — without making the listeners worry about technicalities. (As a music major, I know how challenging it is to make difficult passages sound easy.) The musicality was incredible, and I’d like to believe that the choir added some vibrant color to the performance.

Performing with San Francisco Symphony and MTT made me realize how much concentration, dedication, and artistry is required for performances. I am really grateful for this opportunity through the UMS Choral Union.

Happy 70th birthday, MTT.