Maestro Richard Gill inspires again with the BHS Symphony Orchestra

By Andrew Mott, Director of Music

As he walked into the school from the Williams Rd. entrance, Richard Gill called out hellos to half a dozen BHS students with whom he’d worked the previous week for the opera, Noyes Fludde. He knew all the names and there was plenty of banter as he approached the music building.

One of the first things you notice about Richard Gill is his great ability at connecting with people. He was visiting BHS to spend an afternoon with staff and students to share his ideas on the real ‘nuts and bolts’ of music education and to rehearse the orchestra in his inimitable style. And by the halfway mark of the 90 minute orchestral session, he knew about three-quarters of the orchestra by their names.

His sessions were full of humour but more to the point, they were a great lesson for us all in giving the musicians of any ensemble (of any age), total investment in what they’re playing, by keeping them informed exactly of their musical roles and purpose. It might have involved explaining the fantasy-like plot of Berlioz’ March to the Scaffold, and then transferring this to the score, or getting the students to decide what was to be improved and exactly how to go about it. Whatever, he handballed the decision-making back to the players themselves, and the result was quite incredible.

As he whizzed off back to the city for a three-hour chorus rehearsal that night, he spoke of how impressed he was by the individual musicians and the orchestra’s great skill, and added he’d had a ball working with them. It was a memorable afternoon.