Art Chowder September | October, Issue 17 | Page 46

Art Chowder: That’s a lot of work! I’m PrEU: Enjoy? Well, I learn something
beginning to think you need to have a
big, red “S” emblazoned on your chest. new every time I research for them —
sometimes strange things, sometimes fun
things, and they allow me to engage with
the audience. So yes, I do like them. I
think they open a door for the audience
to connect with the music, to understand
better where the composer was coming
from, and make it more accessible.
PrEU: Better than an “L.”
Art Chowder: Ha! So how do you do
it? Where do you find the energy?
PrEU: Well, I think most people self-
identify, to an extent, with a profession.
For artists we start around four or five,
with art or music as an important part
of our lives. You spend most of your
childhood with an instrument so we’re
kind of trained to put a lot of energy into
music, and we get a lot of energy out of
it. So it’s kind of like energy recycles
itself. It’s not just you exhausting
yourself. You always feed off of it as
well.
You also always kind of have your
explorer hat on, because it’s never the
same, even if you are looking at the same
piece of music for the tenth time. You
always get one level deeper. You can
always peel back another layer. It’s never
ending, so it’s interesting. You never walk
the same path.
Art Chowder:
Nice. So what is the
best thing about your job, and what is the
most challenging?
PrEU: The most challenging, but also the
most fun thing, is that everybody looks
to the music director for new ideas. You
are constantly churning them out, and
it’s all about keeping classical music
and the organization relevant for people
who have no access to it — no musical
education in school, or minimal exposure.
How do you keep this expensive art
form relevant to them? You know, “Why
do we exist?” So you are always asked
to produce new ideas. Those concepts,
formats, programs, and collaborations are
the most challenging, but also the most
fun, because you really have to think
about it.
Art Chowder:
You also have to think
about your informative and humorous
pre-concert talks. Do you enjoy that part
of your job?
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Art Chowder:
Why is it important to
make classical music accessible?
PrEU: For me, one of the most brilliant
things humans can do is sing and make
music. Words usually define things; you
cannot be vague with words. But non-
verbal communication gets to the whole
different emotional, imaginative …
thing. It’s touching, as is visual art and
dancing. But I think there’s something
special about music. It doesn’t have to
be classical.
Now, I do think classical music touches
regions of the soul that only it can, and
that is a kind of human achievement —
something very special no matter your
background, no matter your ethnicity. It
touches you.
Art Chowder: It crosses all barriers.
PrEU: Yes! It’s phenomenal when you go
abroad and conduct the same piece you
did here, and people respond similarly.
It’s still thrilling for them, because we
are all humans. Music is something very
unifying, and I think that’s what we need
right now.
Art Chowder:
Absolutely. You are
about to embark upon your final season
with the Spokane Symphony. What
goals have you set for yourself and the
symphony?
PrEU: Well, not to become a slacker!
No, you know “senioritis” is, I think,
tempting for human beings. For me it
was never an issue because whenever
I step on the podium I need to deserve
it. I need to work for it. And for me, the
trajectory of the symphony always needs
to be up. As soon as it levels out, you
kind of lose.
Photo credit:  Gibby Media
It’s counterproductive and that is very
frustrating for me. Also when I look back,
I want to be able to see some musical
development. I want to continue that and
give my successor the best orchestra I can.
Art Chowder:
Then the next question
must be, why are you leaving? And in
your prime?
PrEU: Not in my prime. Not yet. I’m 48
now, but conductors in their prime are in
their 60’s. That’s when you really know
your stuff.
An old conductor once said, “When you
do Beethoven the first 30 times, it’s tough.
After that it gets easier.” But what no
one realizes is that the earliest you might
perform the same symphony is about
every five years.