180 Minutes: Rehearsal Planning as a Puzzle

Each week, I have 180 minutes of rehearsal (minus a 15-minute break) with the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra. My job each week is to plan our rehearsals based on our musical goals, what we achieved in the previous rehearsal, what the end goal is, and building in some flexibility for the unknown.

Our season opener has about 70 minutes of music. As a starting point for the first rehearsal, I triple the number of minutes programmed for the concert and begin arranging the puzzle pieces. 3x70 is 210, so that won’t ever fit into one rehearsal – that’s when the game begins.

We start with a run-through of each piece on the program. The first rehearsal is one where we have to be the most flexible. Yes, there are always spots that can be identified as “trouble spots” or “things to watch out for”, but ultimately, as we perform each work for the first time together, it’s as if we’re walking into an emergency room and we’re the trauma surgeons. We have to get in, assess the situation, and get straight to work.

Each successive week becomes easier to plan as patterns emerge, spots are worked through and finessed, and things become more cohesive. As this is my sixth season with the orchestra, the musicians are familiar with how I work, and our progress has accelerated each season.

Constantly assessing and remaining flexible with my plan is essential to working through the music and preparing our musicians for great performances.