Profile Story: Wind Ensemble
CHAPEL HILL – Evan Feldman, associate music professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, controls one of the most complex machines on campus: Wind Ensemble.
Wind Ensemble contains some of the highest caliber wind musicians at UNC-CH, and Feldman stands on the podium in front of them. With a flick of his baton, he creates a single musical idea out of a group of individual musicians.
Classical Voice of North Carolina, North Carolina’s statewide arts journal, said this about Feldman’s prowess on the podium: “Feldman’s the real thing – a conductor with evident ensemble-building skills who knows his way around the podium.”
The Wind Ensemble will perform Dec. 5 at Memorial Hall on UNC-CH’s campus. Both Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band will perform, and the concert will include both traditional and modern music.
A Balancing Act
Feldman walks a musical tightrope.
As Feldman moves through his day, he thinks carefully about balance. If he spends too much time on emails, he spends less time studying music. If he allows his students too much free will, he risks compromising their education, but if he exerts too much control, they become passive.
Feldman said when he tells people he spends most of his day in his office, they usually respond with shock. Most people assume he spends the majority of his time on the podium, but when he adds up his class hours, he spends only seven hours a week with his students. He dedicates the rest of his time to studying and planning, so he can maximize his time with his students.
This balancing act also involves balancing students’ opinions with the effects they have on Feldman’s self-image.
“One of the scariest things about any kind of leader is that you have to accept the fact that not everyone is going to love you,” said Feldman. “But that’s OK as long as you are true to yourself and treat people with respect.”
Addison Cook, a senior psychology major, said Feldman balances his emotions in order to communicate properly with the ensemble.
“He is very composed, and still communicates with the band, whether he’s upset or disappointed,” Cook said. “Or if he, on the flip side, is really excited about what we’ve done. He’s still able to communicate.”
A Man of Analogies
Feldman speaks in analogies. He said it’s a common affliction among conductors.
As he talked about his experiences as a conductor and educator, he compared a bad day on the podium to spinning lost on a windy sea; teaching music education to performing science experiments; and fixing wrong notes to directing cars.
Feldman also compared the satisfaction of successfully performing a challenging piece to baking cookies.
“You see it grow from just flour, and eggs and oil,” Feldman said. “Then you’re like, oh, cookie dough, and then, oh, cookies! Yum! That’s definitely satisfying.”
Cook said other conductors in her past used analogies poorly, but Feldman uses them in a way that communicates effectively and even occasionally makes her laugh.
Feldman admitted his colleagues point out his use of analogies to him, but he tells them he thinks about the world in connections. Plus, they allow him to reach students who don’t understand a musical idea when he says it directly.
“One time he was talking about music using training wheels,” said Isaac Weber, a senior computer science major. “He demonstrated this physically, chasing an imaginary kid until he was about a third of the way around the room, looked up, realized where he was, shrugged, and then just kept going.”
The Complications of Leadership
Feldman tries to lead from a place of understanding and trust.
Feldman described a theory called servant leadership. Servant leaders put themselves in a position of service to their followers instead of demanding a dictatorship, and they try to create a sense of ownership among the group.
This style works well, but the nature of conducting makes it complicated. When a conductor stands on the podium at a performance, the ensemble must follow his lead without question. The leader becomes an authoritarian figure.
Feldman works hard to admit to his mistakes and to continue growing as a musician and conductor. If someone has a suggestion, he considers it and responds in a positive manner.
Feldman keeps a camera running in the back of the room, Cook said. It records the rehearsals, and Feldman watches them afterward.
Cook find the reason for this surprising; Feldman watches the videos to improve himself rather than the ensemble. He always moves forward to improve his technique.
Cook said she trusts Feldman to conduct the ensemble and to pick out music that will better her as a musician. This trust comes from watching Feldman put all his energy into his conducting and leadership.
In the end, the spotlight shines on the ensemble. Feldman leads only to facilitate the creation of music.
“Conductors often say that it is our jobs to make ourselves obsolete,” said Feldman. “Because ultimately we want the group to be able to stay together on their own, and we want them to play nice phrases and have beautiful musicianship.”