Sunday, March 22, 2009

Anything Goes

Most of the time I get muchly annoyed at people commenting on performances as if their arguments hold any water. So in my typical contradictory fashion, I'm going to comment on the Totem musical.

Brock, the music director, is what I call a "soft" conductor. This is not an insult to his abilities, quite the opposite. I call conductors who rely mostly on very solid and pronounced ictus "hard" conductor, and those who rely mostly on their near symmetric left hands to conduct "soft" conductors. I personally prefer the hard ones, but that's just a personal preference (can I make this sentence any more redundant?). But back to Brock; he was pretty damn amazing for what he's given.

The band actually wasn't that bad. I was expecting train wreck material by Magnus's description, but they pulled it off (other than the clarinet with the squeeking problem; needs a softer reed, or more practice on the one he/she has). The solo trumpet during blow gabrielle blow was.... underwhelming. Maybe because I've been playing with a kid that's been lead trumpet since grade 8 that made it seem this way. S/he wasn't bad, it's just that with Reno being as amazing as she is, the horn really needed to step it up a notch.

Speaking of Reno, she was definitely my favourite. She sounds like she was made for a musical. The lead actor is also very physically strong, but seems to be missing some training. If he had a few hours with a voice coach, I'm pretty sure he'd be giving Reno a run for her money. As it is, sweet singer, but can be a bit too soft, especially with the bass parts.

And Magnus? OMGWTFBBQ.

If any of the above seems harsh, please tell me so I can correct.

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