About the title of my blog…

mystro2b is a play on the words “maestro to be”…since my days in high school, I can always remember wanting to be a conductor. First a band director, then a choral conductor. Maestro has been defined as “a distinguished musician, esp. a conductor of classical music.” The idea of making music in community has always been a passion of mine. And I think the role of a conductor or “maestro” has changed over the years.

The modern maestro leads with clarity, purpose and a sense of vision that is sure and without argument. This is the maestro I sang and played under in my early days as a musician. At their best, the modern maestro could take a mediocre ensemble and transform it into a glorious world class orchestra. Their passion to create music empowered each of us to play our best for the sake of the music. A commanding presence on the podium was the inspiration we needed to push our abilities beyond what we thought was possible.

I’ve also sat under the baton of modern maestro’s who “got results” by intimidation and bullying. The very notion of them being on the podium was a license for them to create an atmosphere of “me the revered maestro, you the lowly musician” with ego driving the final musical product.

I prefer to think of myself as a postmodern maestro, or a mystro2b, or maestro yet to be- always learning from other musicians, teachers and conductors. The great thing about being a musician is, you’ll never be perfect: there is always something you can learn. The worst thing about being a musician is, you’ll never be perfect: there is always someting to learn. Remembering it’s a journey is what’s important.