How old are you?

Guess.

Tell us a little about yourself

I was born and raised in the charming Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL, the son of two college professors and brother to another budding artist. It was thought that my sister would be the only artistic child because of her strong and early showing of talent. While she was experimenting with oil and charcoal I was off playing sports with friends, fishing at the local pond and not showing the characteristic discipline that young artists develop. It wasn’t until I entered high school that my musical pursuits began to bud, though I had briefly played the violin and trumpet in elementary school. I was given the lead role in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as a sophomore, an honor, and that is what began my love affair with the music and singing. Having written some material toward the end of high school, I used these rudimentary pieces to enter college as a composition major. Not entirely in love with writing, I spent much of my time singing and learning how to conduct. After earning my bachelors degree in composition I sang professionally in Chicago and concurrently earned another degree in composition. It was clear to me that despite my years of studying the craft of composing I was destined for a life on stage, and what was left of my composing side was becoming less and less congruent with this other state of mind. I now perform as a choral singer, soloist and conductor and write for personal pleasure on the weekends.

My musical heroes include Adams, Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Copland, Debussy, Elgar, Franck, Górecki, Hovhaness., Ives, Janáek, Kabalevsky, Lalo, Mahler, Nono, Ockeghem, Persichetti, Quantz, Ravel, Schönberg, Tavener, Ussechevsky, Vaughan Williams, Webern, Wagner, Xenakis, Ysaÿe and Zemlinsky. Just to name a handful.

I also have a serious and abiding interest in photography and graphic design, two unlikely talents that showed up only momentarily in my youth and have recently become intense in their expression. Now, I shoot whenever possible and have had the honor of designing all of WOS’s advertising materials for the last few years. www.bdndesign.com and www.myspace.com/bdndesign

Other interests of mine include literature, specifically philosophy and Russian novels as well as British writing of the 20th century. I also enjoy running, biking, films, concerts, wine, playing the piano, walking around Manhattan, listening to new music, attending new music concerts, drinking coffee, people-watching and gadgets (particularly cell phones and handheld computers), among other things.

Initially, were you interested in joining WOS as its director?

YES! My schedule coincidentally cleared up when I received the call to consider the position. Everything worked out perfectly. After conducting WOS for the first time, I thought I wouldn’t be given the opportunity to work again with the ensemble, though in the back of my mind I was hoping I would. The chemistry was undeniably good from the outset, and like a really good date, the possibility of meeting again was in my consciousness.

What are you most looking forward to as music director of WOS?

The food at break time. There’s nothing quite like devouring five or six cookies and then going back to waving my arms in the air.

Seriously, though, sharing musical masterworks with people is my highest ideal, especially with ensembles that are full of enthusiasm, like WOS. What makes WOS unique is its spirit and energy. The first time I conducted WOS, I was instantly impressed with the intellectual and emotional commitment that each singer had to the music. Of course each person varies in their feelings, but there was a unanimous outpouring of love for the music that every artist hopes to be a part of at least once in their life. Many never have that. We have it every season, and being a part of it makes me happy.

What do you expect will be some of the greatest challenges?

I think the greatest challenge will be for me to communicate my interpretation of each piece clearly to every member of WOS. Earlier in my life I thought that gestures and personality are what drive good conductors, but after working alongside many, I now think that clarity of purpose and respect for the singers are among the highest ideals. Since I am also a singer, I try to keep in mind that requests for breathing, volume and intonation might not be possible to fulfill, based on my experiences. Other challenges will include maintaining far-reaching vision for this limitless group of musicians and finding the best soloists for the price!

Do you have a wish list of choral works you would like prepare and conduct?

This is easy to come up with, because I’ve been dreaming of it for so long:

Britten War Requiem
Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem
Schönberg Gurre-Lieder
Ravel Daphnes and Chloë
Debussy Nocturnes (for women’s chorus or wordless voices)
Beethoven Christus am Ölberge
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 “Choral”
Handel Dixit Dominus
Bach, J.S. St John Passion
Dvorak Requiem
Mozart Mass in C minor
Mozart Requiem
Barber The Lovers
Brahms any motets
Schönberg A Survivor from Warsaw
Messiaen O sacrum convivium!

Just to name a few. :)

What most interests you in working with a chorus to prepare a piece for performance?

The sequence of events that lead up to a performance is always unique and often daunting, and the perseverance of the musicians inspires me to greater music-making. I think of my role as conductor as part teacher and part colleague. There are inevitably some people in any chorus who have performed a work many more times than I have, and there are some who don’t know German from Latin from British English. Leading all of these types once per week and eventually on a stage in front of an audience is what I live for in music. It is the height of emotion, the force behind my beating heart. Though I spend quite a bit of time alone in meditation and study, the zenith of the creative process, the concretizing of those little dots and dashes on the page in the form of sound, is the apex of the process for me. In the end it is the palpable satisfaction of all of the elements coming together to form a unique musical experience that makes everything worth the time, the energy and any perceived sacrifice.

What other aspects of the position are of particular interest to you?

I’m looking forward to working with our local guru, Michael Cole. He is one of the most talented people I’ve ever known or seen, and he is among the most caring. I remember the first time I met him, during break at a rehearsal. He told me that he didn’t read much music and that he enjoyed singing despite that. Next thing I knew, he was singing the solos in a performance of Vespers by Rachmaninoff in NYC!

I also look forward to working with the board to build each season into a blockbuster event. Seeing the singers each week is also of interest. Spending enough time around people, one sees them in their myriad moods and forms, all that makes them interesting and worth working with. And finally, I can’t wait to collaborate with the superb instrumentalists that WOS has performed with for years. They inspire us, and we inspire them into a twirling fantasy world of sound. This is why I love WOS!

Ben Niemczyk
Conductor, Westchester Oratorio Society