Join me in welcoming Maestro Peter Jaffe, the last in the series of conductors vying for the North State Symphony music director position following the departure of Kyle Pickett, former North State Symphony conductor.
First, some background: Jaffe has served as music director of the Stockton Symphony since 1995 and the Auburn Symphony since 2012; he has also recently been appointed music director for the Folsom Symphony. Mr. Jaffe has spearheaded the commissions of several world premieres— a portion of the Stockton Symphony CD of Chris Brubeck’s Mark Twain’s World was broadcast nationally on NPR’s Performance Today.
Jaffe has appeared as guest conductor with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Mexico, Flagstaff, Long Beach, Sacramento, Silicon Valley and Virginia Symphonies. He spent three seasons conducting at the Oberlin Conservatory and two as a visiting professor at Stanford University.
He has served as music director for the Stockton Opera since 2001. Jaffe also teaches every summer at the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina, and conducted and taught at the Aspen Music Festival for fourteen years. Jaffe’s instrumental background includes extensive performing on the violin, viola, and keyboard.
Welcome, Peter Jaffe, to aNewsCafe.com. I know you are extremely busy, so we are especially grateful to you for taking a few minutes to chat. You are the last of four finalist conductors to embark on the North State’s Symphony’s quest for a new Music Director. How do you feel about going last?
It’s actually quite exhilarating—I know everyone in the extended NSS family has been assiduously involved in the process all season. Of course, as a candidate, one can never second-guess the outcome of any search, but it’s even a group satisfaction just to know we’re all looking at the “finish” line together.
Q: What is one of the most common misconceptions about conductors?
That we’re just “waving our hands.” There’s an incredible process that goes on in the “inner ear.” I think of it terms of two simultaneous time streams that occur in our heads: I’m imagining the music in the future, in all of its glorious textural detail, and am constantly comparing and aligning the real sounds coming from the fantastic players of the NSS with those imagined sounds.
As conductors, we’re conduits of energy and inspiration, we provide an artistic link to the composers, and we’re a focal point for leadership, but we must never forget it’s the players who are making the actual sound!
Q: How would you describe your style?
Descriptive. I think it’s important to “live” the music onstage, not just beat time.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to be a conductor?
It actually took a while. I grew up playing violin in many orchestras, including professional ones, and was always totally absorbed by the amazing music and the group synergy. To be the conductor was a dream, but also initially the prospect had an intimidating aspect—knowing what a broad skill set one must bring to the table in order to earn respect. I got over those hurdles, but it’s still humbling when one thinks of the responsibility!
Q: What qualities make a good conductor?
So many things—having well-trained ears, thorough knowledge of theory, history, orchestration. Then there are all the persona angles—working well in a group dynamic situation, having good time management, building great relationships with people inside and outside of the organization. Paramount is providing an artistic and organizational vision and collaborating with the other stakeholders who have those visions as well.
But returning to the skills on the podium itself, having played under Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and a lot of other world-famous conductors—there’s one thing they all have in common, even if their visual style is radically different: it’s a non-stop intensity. In the same way that we think of “resolution” in a spatial way—how many pixels can our cell phone camera provide?—in music, intensity is resolution in TIME. People like Bernstein were projecting intensity every microsecond.
Q: If you weren’t a conductor, what would have been your second career choice?
I’ve done a lot of arrangements for orchestra—possibly I’d have become an arranger. I love teaching—I suppose I could have been a music professor. Or, outside of music altogether, perhaps something in the field of computers. It’s hard to contemplate any of this—I think I HAVE to be doing what I’m doing.
Q: You’ve been Stockton Symphony’s music direct, also Redding’s police chief’s former home. Have you two met?
Not yet—I hope it will happen!
Q: Other than music, what are some other passions and interests?
Other than that I’m still deeply in love with my wife and kids? Hiking (if I can carve out the time!), bridge, and FOOD would have to top the list.
Q: What appeals to you about possibly being the North State Symphony’s conductor?
It’s an incredible opportunity—to carry on the legacy Kyle Pickett has left us, to strive for ever higher artistic goals, and to explore the marriage of profession and academy that is already inherent in the NSS structure. We could build this into a national model.
Q: Tell us about your selections for this weekend’s concerts.
I love to provide “elegant variety” in a program, and the mixture of Gershwin, Beethoven, and Musorgsky does just that. Pictures at an Exhibition provides an opportunity for practically every principal player and section to shine, and the Beethoven Third Piano Concerto is a dramatic and passionate vehicle for our superb soloist, Natalya Shkoda.
Q: What else should we know about you?
After having had professional positions for a couple of decades, I’m still extremely passionate about symphonic music. It’s my life. Literally—I hear music in my dreams.
Q: Thank you, Peter, for stopping by A News Cafe.com and sharing so much with us. Best of luck with your concerts — “ARRIVE” — this weekend in Chico and Redding.
Also, Thursday, May 7, is an extremely busy day for in you Redding, starting with a slew of radio interviews: Thursday, May 7, 7:30-7:45 a.m. on KCNR 1640 AM with Carl Bott; Thursday, May 7, 8:00-8:15 a.m. on KLXR 1230 AM with “Jimbo” – Jim Anderson, and Thursday, May 7, at 8:30 a.m. on KQMS 99.3 FM Radio “Mornings With Schopflin & Gibson” and finally, Thursday, May 7, 6 p.m. on KCNR 1640 AM with James Mazzotta and Linda Bott.
And for those who’d like to meet you and hear you speak in person before your weekend’s concerts in Redding and Chico, there’s an opportunity for exactly that Thursday, May 7, at 4 p.m. at 2850 Foothill Blvd. in Redding. (No charge for the meet-and-greet.) Concert details below.
What: Maestro Peter Jaffe conducts the North State Symphony as it performs “ARRIVE”
When and Where: Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Cascade Theatre in Redding; Sunday, May 10, 2 p.m. at Laxson Auditorium in Chico.
Details: Guest Soloist: Natalya Shkoda, Piano Gershwin: Porgy & Bess Selection Beethoven: 3rd Piano Concerto Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition.
Tickets: Click here for ticket information.
Independent online journalist Doni Chamberlain founded what’s now known as anewscafe.com in 2007 with her son, Joe Domke of the Czech Republic. Prior to 2007 Chamberlain was an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist, feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W. Scripps. She lives in Redding, CA.
