The Art and Science of Performance: Unlocking Mentor-Mentee Tradition in Arts

Music and Performing Arts are by nature oral traditions with not absolute truths! Because of the enormous complexity around them, all good artists know that every performance is only a perspective of how a work should go. Some of them are more coherent than others, others more historical connected than others, or other more adventurous into new performing territories. But strictly from a scientific perspective, there is not a real truth about how a performance must go. However, that opens a very important question, how to be sure an specific performance is a good one or not?
To respond that question is important to study in-depth the Performing Arts. However, despite what could be seen as a contradictory fact, the more you study Performing Arts as an art and as a science, the more you discover that there is not actually any scientific truth about how an interpretation must go. The reason that explains this “contradiction” is found in two very basic elements of the Performing Arts. First, Performing Arts are an Intangible Experience. And second, the knowledge of Performing Arts is primarily based on Oral Tradition and transferred by Mentor-Mentee relationships, meaning PERSPECTIVES!
As an ethereal art, Performing Art lives only when it is being done and there is not way to transform it to a tangible asset, good, or other form, they are Intangible Experiences. Because of the enormous amount of complexities it has, it is impossible to put them in a tangible format. Not even a highly developed 4d video recording is able to capture all of the experience. It is not the same to be in a concert hall than seeing the concert in your home cinema studio no matter how great is the sound, smell, vibration and image systems there. The concert hall offers many things you only experience there: The energy of performers, the hall itself and its protocols that prepare you for the experience, the audience, the vibrations not only about sounds but also about souls, etc...
Now imagine trying to put all of that experience in a score or in a written document. It is VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE! Only performers that actually have written music/theater/ballet/opera know that even the most clear and detailed scores can only carry around 5% to 10% of the full information and instructions needed for a performance. In my case I have written symphonies, sonatas, fugues, and even lead the creation of an opera (more info here) and many symphonic arrangements of traditional music around the globe (more info here). Extra note here. I don’t consider myself a composer because (despite probably the opera where my ideas influenced directly the way it was written) I haven’t created a special language with my compositions neither I done them to broadcast a message or a value. Without counting the Opera, I composed all of them mostly, like in the most important old conducting schools, to understand very in-depth different genres, styles, orchestrations, and compositional techniques.
As everyone knows I am very precise in my work, an anyone that has worked with me knows which level of precision I gave in my instructions (more info here). But in terms of scores, it is just impossible to put all Performing Arts instruction information in a text. Even the Mahler Scores, known for their long performing instructions in German are not able to accomplish that (you can read a very in-depth analysis of it clicking here). Or the contemporary composers scores that clarify everything like if a computer will be reading it, also fail in the basic fact that every hall is different, every orchestra is different, every performer is different, etc., and therefore every performance is different and will require different set of instructions (more info here). Therefore, even the more dedicated and clear composers can put only the 5% or 10% of the information on their scores, the other 90% to 95% is impossible to be putted in paper.
To find out the rest 90 to 95%, performers need to look outside the score. Of course, another important note here, first knowing the score very well is the fundamental step to be ready to go deeper and look outside it (as you know I ended up conducting everything by memory because of this very in depth understanding of the score as a very first step). A strong understanding of the score inside out is fundamental to being able to then start understanding the music, values, and messages it is trying to broadcast in a more artistically and deeper sense.
The sources to find out the other information can come in many different sources depending on the genre, the composer and the specific piece. Around 5% to 10% of the necessary information to perform could be found understanding other compositions of the composer(s), librettists, and/or authors and their influences. There you can understand "the creators' logics" around multiple elements of their concept of music as phrases, rhythms, orchestration, colors, vertical and horizontal models, values, approach to aesthetics, etc. Another 5% to 10% usually comes from doing a very serious musicology historical research. This could include composer bios from different sources, performance reviews, reviews of different versions of the score you are working on, “original” parts and manuscript analysis (knowing that even original is not precisely the truth as composers and creators change things either during the first productions, mistakes can be done, composers usually are flexible to different interpretations, and/or composers also change things with time). Other sources can be letters between creators and close people (once again knowing that each person describes a situation in a different way), and of course a very serious analysis of performing traditions of the piece by listening recordings and concerts analyzing them professionally and under the understanding of all the complexities (orchestra, hall, performing era, artistic aesthetics of the time, conductor, recording methods, scores and parts source, etc)
Yes, as you notice by now defining what is a good performane is not actually a simple tast and rather a very complex one. Even the percentages suggested here are not exact, as every composer or creator is unique and the available information about him/her/they change from one to another. As everthing in Performing Arts, “looking for the truth” is not an exact science and the Scientific Method never works here. Instead, a very serious and rigorous research will show you that there is nothing that can actually give you the truth. The more information you have about a work, can only give you more information to contrast and hopefully that will allow you to make better informed decisions. A bigger data pool from which you will be able to draw better and better informed decisions, if you are using in academic terms.
Coming back to our suggested percentages, if you are paying attention to the math, we not only still need to know how to define around 70% to 85% of performing information that is not in the score, but also learning how to process, categorize and digest the previous 15% to 30% information we gathered (at the score and our previous performance focused research). Well, following the previous facts about the Performing Arts, where its full information is impossible to be putted on paper, we have to look for it from the experience itself to define which is coherent and what is not.
What that means is that the unique way to have the full information about how to interpret a score is either talking with the composer(s)/creator(s) if is still alive or by organizing all the information you gather about the piece, its influences, and performing traditions, and take a series of very diverse and complex informed decisions based on your own criteria as an artists. Another important note here, as you know I have done many worldwide premieres and I love that experience more info here. Working on World Premieres or performances with living composers gave me another inside, is important to understand that composers usually have the ideal piece in their minds from an artistic perspective and not a practical perspective. What that means is that transforming the score to reality requires many other decisions you still will need to take as a Conductor and won't be neither on the score neither talking with the composer because as said before, every hall is different, every orchestra is different, every musician is different: therefore every performance will be different, and that applies to all performers. The Composer did his/her/their job creating the score, now is the job of the performer to transform these instructions into a real live intangible experience for the audiences, and it has its own practical concerns.
In both cases, working with living composers or performing pieces from the other eras, the "creation" of a performance requires a lot of work because in addition to all of your Music Training (music theory, composition, orchestration, aural skills, etc) and all your Musicological knowledge about the piece (Bios, Letters, "original" Scores and Parts reviews, performing traditions analysis, etc) as a performer you still need to develop a unique taste or aesthetic as an artist to define what should be done or not in a genre, in a composer, in a piece, in a section, etc. But how to develop it?
The development of this personal artistic aesthetic taste is crucial to lead those performance decisions and should start as soon as possible in a serious artistic training. A development that also requires guidance as it is based on the knowledge that is only passed through oral tradition. Is here when a close Mentor-Mentee relationship is crucial becase it will allow each artists/performer to develop their own aesthetic taste based on strong knowledge on the performing art and how it has been experienced before. People that has experienced the specific Performing Art you are trying to re-create and that will allow you to make sense of all the information inside and outside the score. And also people that can guide you to understand how the other 70% to 85% missing information required to make the performance live works. In general to develop your unique Artistic Aesthetic Taste, you need to collaborate and learn from experts in the Performing Art you are trying to understand. Artists whose aesthetic taste, career development, experience, authority in the field, and understanding of it is relevant and interesting FOR YOU!
That creates a very important fact, if you are doing the process seriously and professionally, every artists must be different and every interpretation MUST be different. A REAL ARTIST will differ from others because its unique combination of personality, background, training, and mentors. That is why defining and selecting your mentors is a very IMPORTANT DECISION as they will influence in everything you are going to be as a musician, artist, and also as a person.
Arrriving to some conclusions, developing an outstanding performance is becoming a mature artist that is able to not only organize the 15% to 30% available information of a piece but also able to define how the 70% to 85% missing information is going to work in an specific performance. And as you can see by the previous (very short explanation), it is a very complex process that requires a very STRONG ARTISTIC ASTHETIC TASTE. One that is acquired with time and in which artists/performers need help and support from many people.
In my case I have been very lucky sharing with outstanding mentors from many different countries, schools and performing approaches or styles. Some of my mentors come from long traditions of outstanding Mentors connected to Mahler, Puccini, Strauss, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, or even Bach; others from traditional musics "dynasties", and others from highly respected academic environments at different continents. Distinguished artists with many different perspectives, a fact that has allowed me to see the same piece in multiple ways and expanded my professional criteria about its multiple performance possibilities. People that not only shared with me their reflections and knowledge about their own artistic taste and how they built it, but also and more importantly, mentors that have been helping me to develop my own artistic aesthetic taste. One that includes all the complexities of who I’m as an artistic, multidisciplinary scholar, arts ambassador, diverse background holder and of course my international training.
Therefore, taking advantage of this short article, following you will find a very short list of some of the main mentors I had the opportunity to learn and work with during my professional training and work. But I have to highlight that many, many, many more have helped me during this process. Because as I said in this video, every classmate, professor, orchestra colleague, singer, dancer, professor, audience member, board member, arts administrator, etc.; has helped and has influenced my "Artistic Aesthetic taste" and who I am as an artists!
These are some of my main mentors:
Conducting:
Main Mentors (Long term):
Arthur Fagen - https://arthurfagen.com (At my Doctor Degree at Indiana University) Arthur Fagen, the Music Director of the Atlanta Opera since 2010, is a highly sought-after conductor with an extensive opera repertory of over 90 works. He has held notable positions such as Principal Conductor in Kassel and Brunswick, and Music Director roles in Dortmund and with the Queens Symphony Orchestra. Fagen has led significant opera productions and concert tours worldwide, earning critical acclaim for his recordings, especially with the Naxos label. He has also contributed to academia as a Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Thomas Wilkins - https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/musicdb/artists/5708/thomas-wilkins (At my Doctor Degree at Indiana University) Thomas Wilkins is the Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, having held a titled position there since 2008 and becoming Principal Conductor in 2014. He also serves as the Boston Symphony’s Artistic Advisor for Education and Community Engagement, Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Virginia Symphony. Wilkins, recognized for his ability to connect with audiences, has received numerous awards, including the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award and the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award. He has conducted major orchestras across the United States and is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Marzio Conti - http://www.marzioconti.com/en/ (At my Doctor Degree at Indiana University) Marzio Conti, initially renowned as a flutist, debuted at the Salzburg Festival with "I Solisti Veneti" at twenty and later transitioned to conducting in the mid-nineties. A student of Piero Bellugi, he has served as principal and artistic director for various orchestras in Italy and abroad, including his recent tenure with Oviedo Filarmonia from 2011 to 2017. Conti's extensive discography includes recordings with top labels like Warner Classic and Naxos, and he frequently promotes both traditional and contemporary music on TV and radio. He has collaborated with numerous notable artists and orchestras worldwide and currently serves as a guest conductor and professor at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.
David Neely - https://www.davidneelyconductor.com (At my Doctor Degree at Indiana University) David Neely, born in Dayton, Ohio, is a highly regarded conductor with a diverse career spanning symphonic, opera, ballet, and educational settings. As Music Director and Principal Conductor of Des Moines Metro Opera since 2012, he has significantly elevated the company's musical profile and led critically acclaimed performances of a wide repertoire, including numerous premieres and regional Emmy-winning productions. Neely has also conducted with prominent orchestras and opera houses in the U.S. and Europe and serves as Director of Orchestras at the University of Maryland School of Music. Additionally, he is involved in nurturing young conductors through his role on the Artistic and Awards Committee of the Solti Foundation U.S.
Walter Huff - https://music.indiana.edu/faculty/current/huff-walter.html (At my Doctor Degree at Indiana University) Walter Huff is a professor of choral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and serves as the chorus master for The Atlanta Opera since 1988. He has prepared the chorus for over 80 productions, receiving acclaim both in the United States and internationally. Additionally, he directs the Atlanta Opera High School Opera Institute and operates a vocal coaching studio in Atlanta, working with singers in opera and musical theater from around the country.
Christopher Russell - https://www.apu.edu/music/faculty/cprussell/ (At my Master's Degree at Azusa Pacific University) Christopher Russell, MM, is the conductor of the APU Symphony Orchestra and heads their graduate instrumental conducting program. Described as a "forcefully dramatic conductor with a strong technique" by the Los Angeles Times, he has guest conducted at prominent festivals and orchestras worldwide, including the MasterWorks Festival, Orquestra Sinfônica Heliópolis, and various symphonies in China. Russell has lectured for prestigious organizations like the Los Angeles Philharmonic and internationally, while also advocating for and performing rarely-heard older music, such as the U.S. and international premieres of mid-20th-century works. Additionally, he has received significant recognition from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers for his programming of contemporary music for youth orchestras, winning the award ten times, including seven first-place honors.
Jorge Alejandro Salazar - https://www.jwpepper.com/myscore/www (At my Bachelor's Degree at Juan N. Corpas University) Jorge Alejandro Salazar is a distinguished conductor and composer with advanced degrees in orchestral conducting from the National University of Colombia and Denver University. He has received numerous accolades, including reaching the semifinals in the Cadaqués International Conducting Competition and winning the best conductor prize at the VI International Choir Festival in Santander. As the Music Director at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora, Colorado, and headmaster of conducting studies at Corpas University in Bogotá, Colombia, he has conducted numerous international orchestras and ensembles. His compositions, which blend Colombian and Latin-American rhythms with academic music, have earned multiple awards and been performed by prominent choirs in Colombia.
Other Mentors:
JuanJo Mena - https://juanjomena.com/en/
(As Apprentice in Cincinnati Symphony, May Festival, and Indianapolis Symphony)
Juanjo Mena, a prominent Spanish conductor, gained recognition as Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in 1999 before achieving international acclaim. His tenure as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 2011 to 2018 elevated the orchestra's profile with notable performances at the BBC Proms and acclaimed recordings. Mena revitalized the Cincinnati May Festival during his tenure until 2023, introducing new repertoire and expanding its audience. A sought-after guest conductor, he has led major orchestras across Europe, North America, and Asia, and has made significant contributions to the opera world with productions in prestigious venues worldwide.
Giancarlo Guerrero - https://www.giancarlo-guerrero.com
(As Apprentice in Nashville Symphony and IU Symphonies)
Giancarlo Guerrero, acclaimed for his dynamic conducting style, is the six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Music Director of the Nashville Symphony. Known for his meticulous attention to detail, Guerrero has championed American composers through commissions, recordings, and premieres, including GRAMMY®-nominated works by John Adams. He co-founded the Composer Lab & Workshop at the Nashville Symphony to nurture emerging composers. Guerrero's international engagements span prestigious orchestras in North America, Europe, and Australia, reflecting his versatile leadership in both classical and contemporary repertoire. His career includes notable tenures with orchestras like the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic and leadership roles in Miami, Lisbon, Eugene, and Minnesota.
Sir Roger Norrington
(Conducting Master Classes and Score Analysis at Indiana University)
https://www.rcm.ac.uk/hp/professors/details/?id=91010
Sir Roger Norrington, born in Oxford and from a musical family background, began his career as a boy soprano and later studied violin and conducting. He founded the Schütz Choir in 1962, embarking on a pioneering exploration of historical performance practice that evolved into the acclaimed London Classical Players. Known for his dramatic interpretations of Beethoven's symphonies on period instruments, Norrington's recordings with EMI garnered international acclaim and reshaped perceptions of 18th and 19th-century orchestral music. He continues to influence orchestral performance through his work with major symphony orchestras worldwide and his extensive discography spanning a wide range of composers and genres.
Nicolás Pasquet -
https://www.nicolaspasquet.com
(Conducting Master Classes and Score Analysis at Indiana University)
Nicolás Pasquet, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, is a highly accomplished conductor known for his extensive international career. He studied violin and conducting in Germany, where he later received recognition including the First Prize at the Besançon International Conducting Competition in 1987. Pasquet has held notable positions such as Chief Conductor of the Pécs Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra in Neubrandenburg, Germany, where he contributed significantly to their discographies and international profiles. As a professor at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT in Weimar since 1994, Pasquet has mentored conductors globally and led various youth orchestras, earning accolades such as the Order of Merit of the state of Hessen for his leadership with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Hesse.
Leonardo Marulanda
(As Guest Conductor of Caldas Symphony and Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá)
Marulanda has had a distinguished career in Colombia's orchestral scene, serving as Assistant Conductor of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra from August 2013 to August 2018 and as Music Director of the Caldas Symphony Orchestra, where he significantly enhanced both artistic and administrative aspects. He holds a Master's degree with honors in Orchestral Conducting from the National University of Colombia, a Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Caldas, and completed specialized studies in Opera Orchestra Conducting in Vienna, Austria, in 2012. Marulanda has collaborated with orchestras in Mexico, Venezuela, Austria, Spain, and Colombia, conducting numerous concerts that included premieres of symphonic and operatic works, earning praise from specialized critics.
Viola:
Raul Garcia
(In my first Bachelor Degree that was in Viola)
Raúl García is a highly accomplished violist with degrees from Rutgers and Yale universities in the USA, where he received distinctions including the Georgina Lucy Grosvenor Memorial Prize for excellence from the Yale School of Music. He has performed extensively at prestigious venues worldwide such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Teatro Colón, collaborating with renowned artists and ensembles. Currently serving as Principal Viola of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, García also teaches viola at several music faculties in Colombia and gives masterclasses internationally. He is deeply involved in chamber music, participating in festivals across the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, and the Caribbean, showcasing his talent and passion for the art form.
Anibal Dos Santos
(In my first Bachelor Degree that was in Viola)
As a student of Joseph de Pasquale, graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1988. He has served as Principal Violist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá for 31 years, introducing numerous international viola works to Colombia. Notable performances include premiering Benjamin Yusupov's Viola, Tango, Rock Concerto in the Americas with subsequent recording on Navona Records. García has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras across Europe and the Americas, and has given acclaimed chamber music recitals worldwide, including appearances at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Saillagouse Chamber Music Festival in France.
Sandra Arango
(In my first Bachelor Degree that was in Viola)
Sandra is a versatile musician specializing in chamber music, orchestra performance, pedagogy, and arts management. She completed her viola studies at the Conservatorio del Tolima, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and Universität Mozarteum Salzburg under Thomas Riebl. Sandra has received masterclasses from esteemed violists such as Joseph de Pasquale, Veronica Hagen, and Wilfried Strehle, and pursued further chamber music training at Pontifica Universidad Javeriana with Richard Young of the Vermeer Quartet. She has won awards in national competitions, including first place in the Concurso Jóvenes Intérpretes Roberto Mantilla Álvarez and second place in the Concurso para violistas at Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango del Banco de la República. Currently, Sandra is pursuing a Doctorate in Music with an emphasis on Performance at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, alongside a specialization in Cultural Management at Universidad Uniminuto.
Ricardo Hernandez (Orchestra Repertoire for Viola and Strings)
Music in General:
Andrew Mead (Music Theory) - https://music.indiana.edu/faculty/current/mead-andrew.html (At my Doctor Degree at Indiana University)
Andrew Mead is a professor of music theory at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, having previously taught at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance for 30 years and chaired its Music Theory Department from 1995 to 2004. He holds degrees from Yale and Princeton Universities and is widely published on composers including Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern, as well as on topics like 12-tone theory and rhythmic theory. Mead is also an active composer, known for works such as saxophone quartets and song cycles.
Jorge Pinzon (Orchestration, Piano Score-Reduction, Aural Skills) https://www.juanncorpas.edu.co/pregrados-fundacion-universitaria-juan-n-corpas/musica/composicion/ Born in Moniquirá, Boyacá, Mauricio Arias Esguerra began his musical studies in 1981 at the Escuela Superior de Música de Tunja, focusing on piano and theory under Jorge Zorro and oboe under Rizshard Jarosik. He achieved notable recognition early on, including a "Summa Cum Laude" mention from the E.S.M. In 1987, he served as a pianist for Incolballet and later taught solfege and harmony at the Conservatorio Antonio María Valencia in Cali. After earning a scholarship from ICETEX, Mauricio studied oboe and composition at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow from 1988 to 1994, where he also participated in international festivals. Returning to Colombia, he contributed significantly to its musical culture, winning competitions and serving as a composer-in-residence for the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra from 2020 to 2021. Currently, Mauricio Arias Esguerra serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Music at Universidad Juan N. Corpas in Bogotá, where he has been directing the Composition Department since 2003.
Luis Gabriel Mesa (Musicology) https://www.mesamartinez.com A native of Pasto, Colombia, holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Granada, Spain, and currently directs the Master of Music program at Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogota. His musical journey began early with piano lessons and continued through international studies under notable instructors in Norway, Minnesota, France, and Spain, influencing both his performance and academic pursuits. Luis co-founded Atípico Trío, showcasing Latin American music through unique chamber arrangements, and has released several albums reflecting his research and compositions. As a concert pianist, he has performed extensively in Colombia and abroad, contributing significantly to both performance and scholarly aspects of music in his career.
Alena Krasutskaya (Music Theory) https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-krasutskaya-27272953/?originalSubdomain=co She is a full-time professor and coordinator of the Music Theory area at the National University of Colombia's conservatory. She holds a Doctorate in Music from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and is a co-author and official representative in Colombia of the Brainin Method "Development of Musical Reasoning." She has taught undergraduate and graduate programs at the Juan N. Corpas University School of Music and the Faculty of Arts at the Technological University of Pereira. Additionally, she has presented at the Music Education Congress at the Technological and Pedagogical University of Tunja and conducted Brainin Method workshops at the Unimusica Foundation.
Fabio Santana (Strings Pedagogy)
Andrew Zaplatinsky (Violin - Viola)
Olialín Olarte (Violín)
And many other by whom I thank a lot for helping me being the musician, artists, and person I am today.
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