so we’re gonna kind of talk a little bit
about the role of a conductor because as
I said earlier the role of a conductor
is kind of a mysterious position but
before we go there the San Diego
Symphony you’ve been doing this for a
while yes 14 years I have been a music
director now I’m the conductor laureate
okay of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra
now conductor Laurie what does that mean
that’s honorary conductor as laureate
it’s like honorary because of I on my
work of rebuilding the orchestra
post-bankruptcy and then build the
suckers to a major top-tier orchestra in
the country which I also took them for
first debut at the Carnegie Hall in New
York and also first international tour
now the interesting thing about a
maestro Ling is that he’s not just San
Diego’s awesome conductor he’s done a
lot of things outside of San Diego
how many orchestras have you been a part
of well I have conducted all the major
orchestras in the United States and many
many prominent orchestras in Europe and
Asia in Australia wow you like this
stuff I love it let me different
audience different orchestra and to
share my musical talent and gift and
training with the people around the
world now I’m gonna ask the audience a
question and hopefully you don’t get
offended by this question how many of
you knew who this gentleman was before
this wonderful TED chill of TEDx you
listen alright no words but I think they
all know who you are
can you play our first slide and now to
honor America especially the brave men
and women serving our nation in the
Persian Gulf and throughout the world
please join in the singing of our
National Anthem
the anthem will be followed by a flyover
of f16 jets from the 56th tactical
training wing at MacDill Air Force Base
and will be performed by the Florida
orchestra under the direction of maestro
yaha Lang and sung by Grammy Award
winner
Whitney Houston
you saw that right be like now Do You
so let me ask the question again
audience how many of you know who Yaya
thing is I don’t think we knew how
amazing Whitney Houston was going to be
at this moment because we’re still
talking about that moment how did you
know that this was gonna be big
well I was the music director of the
Florida orchestra serving the Tampa Bay
area at that time and the Super Bowl 25
which is 1991 was held in the Tampa
stadium and at that time they were
choosing who’s going to who was going to
perform the national anthem and they
have invited Whitney Houston but they
need somebody to back up to so instead
of you know a piano accompaniment or
something they would like to have full
officer so they invited us the four
officer I believe is probably the first
symphony officer Evan Valley to perform
at a Super Bowl and I was the first
classical conductor that ever invited
and then that was during a wonderful
patriotic sense of area era which we
just started the first Gulf War I
believe then and then so you know the
MacDill Air Force Base was based in
Tampa with general Norman Schwarzkopf
had command so the f-16 that flew over
is come from madeira first dates right
after the the national anthem and I was
like the feeling of the audience of
75,000 in a stadium class they said 750
million people watching on the
television that really amazing I think
probably there was my largest audience
right
and and then I think today some of you
probably watch the TV this morning the
real wedding
right and I had also the special
privilege to be invited by the den mayor
Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco to
perform specially for a special concert
for the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the
second on the state visit to San
Francisco
there was 1983 and it was very special
so when I saw that picture again or the
Queen under Duke of Edinburgh it was so
special for me to have the relation
because she was right there in the box
so how many of you feel small right now
so my fascination is really in the role
of a conductor I think if you see a
conduct and I was fascinated by the
students at East Lake middle school and
I was fascinated by their passion for
this thing called conducting but when
you see someone conduct that’s when you
say there’s something there I want to
show you actually before I show you
what’s the biggest misconception of a
conductor well a lot of people thinking
that to stand up there and just beat the
time or just give the temple you know
you’re on fast impose slow tempo so
people think that conductor is just
giving that gesture so in that case that
machine could do this right robot can do
that right but the key of conductors not
only giving the time but knowing the
scores or how the composer wrote that
piece and how to interpret it and
explaining it to the musician how to
perform that particular piece and with
the emotional content wow this is a lot
there huh lot there go I know you want
to say something else yeah my teacher or
mentor Leonard Bernstein what will you
have heard muslin and he once told me
when he taught me is that when you look
at a score is like you doing Anatomy
you know like you dissect everything in
the score and they’re trying to put it
together but a lot of time you know when
you study and I told me that’s basically
a kind of ER or dead person or that but
for you to study music
you not only analyze it and know what is
going in inside the score but to be able
to make it alive and make that sound
life to the audience and touch people’s
heart so he doesn’t know this when I
first went to the simply with my wife
and my kids I was not a connoisseur of
symphonic music in this intimate setting
and I just was amazed at what was
happening happening on that stage and I
fell in love with a man and let me tell
you why it’s easy to fall in love with a
conductor I’m going to show you this
piece
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
what’s going on what’s going on that was
performed by not by a professional
Orchestra that was the Curtis Symphony
Orchestra Curtis incident is one of the
best or deep maybe some people arguably
the best music school in the country or
in the world and they were very very
young people like 16 to 21
those people are performing but they
were able to express the emotional
content of mala this is mala Symphony
number five the added yet to movement
which he wrote especially for his wife
Alma mala to show his love with the
tenderness the intimacy and the passion
you see that movement and suddenly
something is suddenly become quiet right
because you want to express all the
inner in emotion of his love to his wife
so that’s how the conductor have to
inspire the orchestra because the
conduct himself or herself
do not make any sound only the orchestra
make the sound the or the collector only
makes the power of suggestion the
suggested thing that the author should
perform the way sometimes not the beat
but between the beat between the notes
that’s why the conductor had to really
study their score thoroughly
historically analytically and then be
able to formulate a concept in the mind
of the conductor and then digest it
become emotional content which then you
rehearse the orchestra and tell them
what to do with this piece and then when
they perform for the audience that was
the result in the performance so it’s a
many many steps to invert their first
you have to study the score then you
have to analyze the score and then you
have to rehearse and in the performance
you have to also save that kind of
spontaneity of performance not all you
rehearse already done and then you do
again whatever you rehearse and
sometimes can be boring very but you
have to make it alive like my teacher
played a burn sign or we said you live
you see the passion right there and
that’s the passion on the screen we have
a special treat this evening for this
afternoon we have someone who’s going to
be playing the piano jessie chain what’s
the difference between what you do and
what she’s going to do I just explained
the orchestra made the slough just like
a husband and wife we just do everybody
that the orchestra make the sound
produce the sound the conductor only
suggested my baton doesn’t make any
sound right a baton only suggests some
but a performer like Jessie my wife sees
performing she produce herself the sound
whatever see want to take the instrument
to according to her wishes she will be
able to do it and this is what is a
performer performer or an artist that
directly and instrumentalists either a
singer or a string player a wood beam
player or pianist all right so that’s
the differences you heard well I want to
thank you very much for giving us a
sneak peek into who you are that’s been a great pleasure in with you Elaine
about the role of a conductor because as
I said earlier the role of a conductor
is kind of a mysterious position but
before we go there the San Diego
Symphony you’ve been doing this for a
while yes 14 years I have been a music
director now I’m the conductor laureate
okay of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra
now conductor Laurie what does that mean
that’s honorary conductor as laureate
it’s like honorary because of I on my
work of rebuilding the orchestra
post-bankruptcy and then build the
suckers to a major top-tier orchestra in
the country which I also took them for
first debut at the Carnegie Hall in New
York and also first international tour
now the interesting thing about a
maestro Ling is that he’s not just San
Diego’s awesome conductor he’s done a
lot of things outside of San Diego
how many orchestras have you been a part
of well I have conducted all the major
orchestras in the United States and many
many prominent orchestras in Europe and
Asia in Australia wow you like this
stuff I love it let me different
audience different orchestra and to
share my musical talent and gift and
training with the people around the
world now I’m gonna ask the audience a
question and hopefully you don’t get
offended by this question how many of
you knew who this gentleman was before
this wonderful TED chill of TEDx you
listen alright no words but I think they
all know who you are
can you play our first slide and now to
honor America especially the brave men
and women serving our nation in the
Persian Gulf and throughout the world
please join in the singing of our
National Anthem
the anthem will be followed by a flyover
of f16 jets from the 56th tactical
training wing at MacDill Air Force Base
and will be performed by the Florida
orchestra under the direction of maestro
yaha Lang and sung by Grammy Award
winner
Whitney Houston
you saw that right be like now Do You
so let me ask the question again
audience how many of you know who Yaya
thing is I don’t think we knew how
amazing Whitney Houston was going to be
at this moment because we’re still
talking about that moment how did you
know that this was gonna be big
well I was the music director of the
Florida orchestra serving the Tampa Bay
area at that time and the Super Bowl 25
which is 1991 was held in the Tampa
stadium and at that time they were
choosing who’s going to who was going to
perform the national anthem and they
have invited Whitney Houston but they
need somebody to back up to so instead
of you know a piano accompaniment or
something they would like to have full
officer so they invited us the four
officer I believe is probably the first
symphony officer Evan Valley to perform
at a Super Bowl and I was the first
classical conductor that ever invited
and then that was during a wonderful
patriotic sense of area era which we
just started the first Gulf War I
believe then and then so you know the
MacDill Air Force Base was based in
Tampa with general Norman Schwarzkopf
had command so the f-16 that flew over
is come from madeira first dates right
after the the national anthem and I was
like the feeling of the audience of
75,000 in a stadium class they said 750
million people watching on the
television that really amazing I think
probably there was my largest audience
right
and and then I think today some of you
probably watch the TV this morning the
real wedding
right and I had also the special
privilege to be invited by the den mayor
Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco to
perform specially for a special concert
for the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the
second on the state visit to San
Francisco
there was 1983 and it was very special
so when I saw that picture again or the
Queen under Duke of Edinburgh it was so
special for me to have the relation
because she was right there in the box
so how many of you feel small right now
so my fascination is really in the role
of a conductor I think if you see a
conduct and I was fascinated by the
students at East Lake middle school and
I was fascinated by their passion for
this thing called conducting but when
you see someone conduct that’s when you
say there’s something there I want to
show you actually before I show you
what’s the biggest misconception of a
conductor well a lot of people thinking
that to stand up there and just beat the
time or just give the temple you know
you’re on fast impose slow tempo so
people think that conductor is just
giving that gesture so in that case that
machine could do this right robot can do
that right but the key of conductors not
only giving the time but knowing the
scores or how the composer wrote that
piece and how to interpret it and
explaining it to the musician how to
perform that particular piece and with
the emotional content wow this is a lot
there huh lot there go I know you want
to say something else yeah my teacher or
mentor Leonard Bernstein what will you
have heard muslin and he once told me
when he taught me is that when you look
at a score is like you doing Anatomy
you know like you dissect everything in
the score and they’re trying to put it
together but a lot of time you know when
you study and I told me that’s basically
a kind of ER or dead person or that but
for you to study music
you not only analyze it and know what is
going in inside the score but to be able
to make it alive and make that sound
life to the audience and touch people’s
heart so he doesn’t know this when I
first went to the simply with my wife
and my kids I was not a connoisseur of
symphonic music in this intimate setting
and I just was amazed at what was
happening happening on that stage and I
fell in love with a man and let me tell
you why it’s easy to fall in love with a
conductor I’m going to show you this
piece
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
what’s going on what’s going on that was
performed by not by a professional
Orchestra that was the Curtis Symphony
Orchestra Curtis incident is one of the
best or deep maybe some people arguably
the best music school in the country or
in the world and they were very very
young people like 16 to 21
those people are performing but they
were able to express the emotional
content of mala this is mala Symphony
number five the added yet to movement
which he wrote especially for his wife
Alma mala to show his love with the
tenderness the intimacy and the passion
you see that movement and suddenly
something is suddenly become quiet right
because you want to express all the
inner in emotion of his love to his wife
so that’s how the conductor have to
inspire the orchestra because the
conduct himself or herself
do not make any sound only the orchestra
make the sound the or the collector only
makes the power of suggestion the
suggested thing that the author should
perform the way sometimes not the beat
but between the beat between the notes
that’s why the conductor had to really
study their score thoroughly
historically analytically and then be
able to formulate a concept in the mind
of the conductor and then digest it
become emotional content which then you
rehearse the orchestra and tell them
what to do with this piece and then when
they perform for the audience that was
the result in the performance so it’s a
many many steps to invert their first
you have to study the score then you
have to analyze the score and then you
have to rehearse and in the performance
you have to also save that kind of
spontaneity of performance not all you
rehearse already done and then you do
again whatever you rehearse and
sometimes can be boring very but you
have to make it alive like my teacher
played a burn sign or we said you live
you see the passion right there and
that’s the passion on the screen we have
a special treat this evening for this
afternoon we have someone who’s going to
be playing the piano jessie chain what’s
the difference between what you do and
what she’s going to do I just explained
the orchestra made the slough just like
a husband and wife we just do everybody
that the orchestra make the sound
produce the sound the conductor only
suggested my baton doesn’t make any
sound right a baton only suggests some
but a performer like Jessie my wife sees
performing she produce herself the sound
whatever see want to take the instrument
to according to her wishes she will be
able to do it and this is what is a
performer performer or an artist that
directly and instrumentalists either a
singer or a string player a wood beam
player or pianist all right so that’s
the differences you heard well I want to
thank you very much for giving us a
sneak peek into who you are that’s been a great pleasure in with you Elaine
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