If you’re the guest conductor for the local wind symphony, it would be easy to select a program of music in a particular genre or by a single composer, or maybe to choose favorites with no theme at all.
The program for July 11 seemed to follow the potpourri approach — until the conductor explained each selection. All the songs related to an event that occurred “on this day in history:”
- The Court of Henry VII — he was excommunicated for remarrying after his divorce on July 11, 1533
- Semper Fidelis — the Marine Corps was established as a distinct military branch on July 11, 1798
- Journey of a Comet — the first discovery of a comet by Jean-Louis Pons on July 11, 1801 (he became the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time)
- The World Was Wide Enough — Burr wounded Hamilton on July 11, 1804
- Balloonographic March — 3 explorers departed Norway trying to reach the North Pole on July 11, 1897
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame — Babe Ruth began his career on July 11, 1914
- Africa: Ceremony Song and Ritual — Areas of the Congo were declared independent from Belgium on July 11, 1960
- Freedom Road — Martin Luther King was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom on July 11, 1977
The conductor accepted the task of crafting a coherent message out of seemingly diverse elements. It’s the leader’s job to do the same thing. Followers look to the “conductor” to show the throughline and to make the connections between the multitude of priorities, tasks, inputs, and goals — especially when the commonality isn’t obvious.
If you are holding the baton, you bear the responsibility to unify the components to produce beautiful music. (That goes for metaphorical batons as well.)
Kudos to Conductor David Resnick.
