A kid in a candy store
It finally happened. After months of anticipation, interviews, photo shoots, planning and general pandemonium, this morning the Jacksonville Symphony had its first rehearsal for their opening concerts this weekend. And I was there conducting, for the first time as music director designate. No big deal. Well, not quite. It is a big deal. It’s a huge deal for everyone. I don’t know about the orchestra, but having convinced myself last night that the JSO management had made a terrible mistake, and that the musicians were going to leave for lunch thinking “what have we done?!” I had a few butterflies in my stomach this morning. We spent the morning reading through the main piece on the concerts this weekend, Berlioz’s unbelievable Symphonie Fantastique. It’s hard