Spring 2008
UGA Engineering magazine
link to original article (PDF)
Julie Gerhardt
UGA Engineering, Hodgson School of Music Collaboration Models the Art of Conducting
article excerpt:
Even when starting at a very basic tempo of ninety-two beats per minute, quantifying the line between art and craft is very tough.
David Romines, Associate Director of Bands in UGA’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music, walks this line with an array of budding conductors, exploring their role in an ensemble and searching for useful commonalities of movement that may not be easily detectable through observation. “At the beginning, it’s all very precise and measured, then the next thing you do is get rid of the metronome and start to think musically,” he states, confidently abreast of the paradox. “We know which gestures work for conductors and we’re always looking for better ways to explain it to students.”
To UGA engineering professor Tim Foutz, the search for a better way was all about the biomechanics of conducting – plus a new area for collaboration. “I don’t know much about music, but I thought we might be able to open up some new areas in conducting – and engineering,” Foutz says about what has turned into a research and teaching project between he and Romines.