By James Ranson, AMC Tenor
On October 29, at 7:30 pm, as the singers of Atlanta Master Chorale were settling in to get started with a normal Tuesday rehearsal, something completely different happened.
A conductor stepped up to the podium to warm us up… who we’d never seen on the podium before. This conductor stood about 5’4”, had long brown hair, and wore a sweater with loose sleeves rolled up past her elbows—definitely not Eric Nelson! No, her name is Katie Dial, and she normally sings in our alto section. So what was she doing warming up the choir?
Let’s back up a bit.
As you all know by now, Eric is on medical leave this season. From all reports at the time of this writing, he’s recovering well and in good spirits. But for the first time in over twenty years, this season AMC found itself having to temporarily replace its most irreplaceable member.
Three excellent directors were attained for the October, March, and May concerts. Jon Easter, our usual pianist/organist and a highly capable conductor in his own right, took on the fall program. Atlanta’s talented husband-and-wife choral team, Dan Bara and Deanna Joseph, stepped in for the two spring programs.
That left the holiday concert. And that’s where Katie Dial came into the picture. It was decided that AMC would ask the skilled choir directors from within the group itself to share conducting duties with Jon for this concert. Katie volunteered, along with four others who work full-time as choral directors in schools or churches: sopranos Caitlin Norton, Meg Granum-Gurtcheff, and Megan Schuitema, and tenor Samuel Potts.
I should note here that AMC is no stranger to going to the bench on short notice. As recently as the last concert, a soprano soloist felt sick during warm-ups for the first performance and had to sit out the show. Another soprano stepped in to cover her solo about ten minutes before we had to clear the stage, and she was great.
Or you might remember the holiday concert weekend in the 2022-2023 season, when Jon went go home sick right before the Sunday matinee, and two chorus members (as well as Eric himself) stepped in to play piano and organ.
The point is, AMC members are well used to supporting each other. It’s a heartwarming element of the group that audience members may not always be aware of, but that we in the group treasure as part of what makes AMC so strong.
But stepping in to sing or accompany isn’t quite the same thing as stepping in to conduct. For one thing, Eric has left some pretty big shoes to fill. For another, there’s a reason there are very, very few choirs that sing under multiple directors: it’s really difficult. Not only do the singers have to be skilled and experienced enough to adapt to multiple different conducting styles in real time without losing unity, but the conductors themselves have to be both practiced enough and humble enough to maintain the choral sound without alteration—not to mention capable enough leaders for the singers to want to follow them!
I only know of one choir that uses that model: the men’s group Orpheus, which performs in north and central Georgia—and is primarily made up of choir directors. I’m in my second season with Orpheus, and I’m one of maybe 10% of that group who is not a middle school or high school chorus teacher, a college professor of choral music, or a church choir director. Orpheus’s model, where a rotating group of six members serve as the conductors for each season, works as well as it does for that reason only. If the majority of the group weren’t already conductors, the model would likely collapse, and a single director would need to be appointed.
So given all of that, you may be wondering: how has it been going with our six conductors in getting ready for the holiday concert?
The answer may surprise you (though if you know AMC, it might not!): Positively swimmingly.
Jon is a known quantity, of course. But his quiet confidence and meticulous attention to detail make him a welcome presence on the podium for a second concert this season.
As for the other five, they all stand out in their own ways. Caitlin’s wry wit and occasional nerdy references complement her precise, easy-to-follow conducting. Megan is clearly having fun, often asking us for “a skosh” more of a particular dynamic or making sure our tempo isn’t “mad boring” (i.e., too slow!). Sam is more serious, but he knows exactly the sound he wants down to the syllable and does a lovely job in shaping our phrases. Katie is always kind, but not afraid to call us out with a “let’s get that rhythm right” or remind us to “have a twinkle in our eye when we sing that line.” Meg is a ray of sunshine, always excited to highlight unique phrases in each voice part and encourage us to really emphasize certain consonants.
But there’s one thing they all have in common: the look they get when we sing a line exactly the way AMC sings. Seeing Katie’s smile light up her whole face, or hearing Sam’s heartfelt “That’s beautiful,” or watching Caitlin fangirl a little bit over actually getting to conduct us… it’s truly a pleasure.
And that’s where this experiment has succeeded. These directors aren’t trying to be Eric, nor are they trying to make this concert about them. Each one of them is up there to serve and support the sound that is Atlanta Master Chorale. That’s why asking them to step up to the podium was a great choice, and that’s why I (and the rest of us in AMC) know that this holiday concert is, quite literally, in good hands.
We can’t wait for you to hear it.
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