A Tale of Two Conductors

I was in the band in high school. The arts program funding propaganda is actually true. It was one of the more valuable experiences I had growing up. It was much better adult life preparation than most (all) of the classes I took. It ended up paying off literally, because I had a music scholarship in college. I wasn't even a person who was passionate about music as a career. In fact, I never imagined pursuing it as a career. I barely ever play anymore and don't really miss it.

The man who led the high school band program at the time (he's now retired) was a really good instructor and helped foster an esprit de corps that I haven't really experienced since then in any organization--certainly not in my profession. I didn't even experience it in any other music program. I think I subconsciously adopted that as a model for how organizations should be, and ended up somewhat jaded as a result because it's very rare. I think that model really fits my personality too.

The typical "conductor" persona is egotistical, even if as an individual they aren't especially overbearing. They're the one who's listening to everyone play, and so they can provide feedback and help individuals make adjustments. If it's a person who gets frustrated easily, or who gets angry easily, they'll make the experience really unpleasant and end up being disliked and disrespected.

The typical high school, or even college level musician is so tied up in the technical aspects of performing that they can never even glimpse the larger picture of how a performance comes together or how the whole thing sounds to the audience. If there's some passage of the music that's too difficult, they might never be able to play it no matter how much they practice.

If the conductor's mental model is he's a participant in making music with the group it's a much better experience. The band leader is in that Shaman/wizard role, trying to bring an object of imagination into this plane of existence. 

I think it can be difficult to convey that lesson to anyone, but it's especially challenging to convey it to young people who are new to this life and who are pulled in a million directions all the time.