"Quite often, guest artists at an Oregon Symphony will play an encore, and they will announce that piece from the stage without the aid of a microphone and sometimes they plunge into the piece without saying anything at all. Now and then I know the encore, but more often than not, I have to ask someone what the heck was played."
"When I see So at concerts - usually in the balcony area near a door that leads to the backstage area - he is either surveying the situation on stage or surveying the audience or both. Like Concertmaster Sarah Kwak, you might be tempted to think that he has an extra set of antenna in the back of his head."
"Yes, I typically look at spreadsheets and calendars many times each day. It's a bit of the dark arts how every program comes together! I determine the pieces that the orchestra will perform, when we perform, which guest conductors and artists we perform with, all the details of their contracts - and combine everything into each concert that makes up a season."
Guest artists at the Oregon Symphony often play unannounced encores, leaving audience members unsure of the composer or piece. Clement So, Director of Classical Programming, serves as the orchestra’s planner and repertory designer. He monitors concerts, surveys stage and audience, and answers listeners’ identification questions. He works daily with spreadsheets and calendars to choose repertoire, schedule guest conductors and artists, negotiate contract details, and assemble programs into a season. After creating programs he collaborates with operations and production teams to stage concerts. He describes his role as like a party planner combining many elements into each performance.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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