The holiday season is almost upon us, a time when we can enjoy being together with family and friends, eat and drink too much and reflect on the year that has passed. I’m looking forward to travelling to London and Belfast to be Uncle Courtney for a few weeks. It’s a time with so many traditions, yet there is one element that binds it all together: classical music. Nothing says ‘Christmas is coming’ quite like hearing the Trepak from ‘The Nutcracker’ playing in the supermarket for the first time, or catching a fleeting strain of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Of course, for musicians, it’s not only The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, but the busiest. We often joke that in December, Handel

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When newcomers attend the Symphony they often ask me, “How many weeks ago did you start rehearsing for the concert?” The answer usually elicits a look of astonishment, especially if the performance is on a Thursday: “We started on Tuesday morning!” A Masterworks concert is preceded by four or five rehearsals, all within a single week. The musicians’ schedules are organized this way, as are those of guest conductors and soloists, who often stay in a city for a week before moving on to the next. This allows artist managers to schedule their clients’ engagements 18 months to two years in advance. The condensed timeframe assumes everyone arrives at the first rehearsal absolutely prepared, since there isn’t time to learn the notes in the way

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