Defining Success

NYC Tour, Rockets, and a tale of 3 textures

My band, the Colorado Symphony, recently completed a historic return to NYC for sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall.  Last time was in 1974, and included a concert at the Kennedy Center just 3 years after it opened and 51 years before it… well… RIP KenCen 🪦

Tours like this are loss leaders for the organization.  The financial cost is enormous, but the investment is deep and long lasting.  After some of the dust had settled and we were traveling home the next day, everyone I asked said they felt like it was a success from their specific POV.

But what does success mean?

Oxford Dictionary says it’s the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Well, that’s interesting.  How does anyone “accomplish” an aim or a purpose?  Isn’t the whole idea of aim or purpose to be pointing in a direction?  

Again with Oxford:

• aim: verb 1. to point or direct at a target, 2. To have the intention of achieving; noun 1. a purpose or intention; a desired outcome, 2. the directing of an object at a target

• Purpose: noun 1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc, 2. an intended or desired result, 3. determination, resoluteness

Alrighty then!  Philosophy mode - ENGAGE!

It seems clear that to “accomplish” is to remain directed toward something rather than to be arriving somewhere - success as a continuous growth process; the act of striving rather than an attainment.

All of the answers I got - from stage crew, artistic planning and operations, marketing and development, leadership, and even fellow musicians - amounted to “we made a strong showing of our capabilities and learned some great lessons for the future”.  For statements like this to be made, intentions and goals needed to be set in order to aim for something to evaluate afterward. I was very pleased and filled with pride to hear various versions of  “Yes, and” or Yes, but” to the question “Did things go to plan from your POV? Was this a success?”  

For me, striving is where the most interesting and enriching moments of life are found.  Fortunately/unfortunately there’s often failure and it’s definitely challenging to have to answer those evaluative questions with “No, and” or “No, but” instead of cursing and giving up.  I know that forward movement doesn’t require anything more than honest evaluation plus “and” or “but” in order to apply lessons learned, and that the sting of failure eventually becomes that part of the journey where the really juicy stories are born.  Still it’s tough to muddle through those moments, and even more complicated if you’re leading a team of humans each striving for a common purpose or are part of a complex team with diverse expectations toward that common purpose.

In moments like that I am grateful for the sage observation of a colleague and friend who, when I was spiraling about something new I was trying out which wasn’t magically totally amazing in the initial iterations, said “Beeson, people love an evolution.”

I hang on to that, and to Maya Angelou’s quote “Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn't know before you learned it.”  Both of these are lifelines that offer empowerment as well as the comfort of grace.

Saturday night in the lobby after a recent concert I was chatting with a rocket [scientist?engineer?blast-off-fun-sounding-space-adventure-maker??] friend who regularly attends the symphony and casually asked him what was new.  “Well, we just had a recent launch which was a success despite a pretty big malfunction.”  I excitedly reported that I had been working on this blog post and immediately asked for more words please!  Turns out one of four fiery bits [booster thingies that are actually legitimately called strap-ons, no joke] at the bottom of the ‘vehicle’ that make propulsion happen had some type of failure that caused it to burn out sorta sideways which made an unplanned tilt and a complete rotation in flight. 

Me, incredulous because… rockets: “And this was defined as a success??”

Rocket SEBOFSSAM Friend:  “The primary goal was achieved and the mission was nominal throughout.”

Me: “Nominal???  You get a success designation with ‘nominal’???  WE ARE ALWAYS ASKED TO PRODUCE ON THE VERY KNIFE EDGE OF POSSIBILITY.  NOMINAL = DEATH AROUND HERE!”

Rocket SEBOFSSAM Friend, after getting a good laugh in: “Nominal is what we want.  When our systems and components behave the way they were designed, and the performance data supports what we expected, the mission is on track and proceeding according to plan.” 

💡On track✅

💡Proceeding according to plan✅

🧐NOMINAL⁉️

A different way of evaluating success which produces a sort of thumbs up thumbs down combo??  I love a ‘third option’.  More consideration necessary!  One thing is clear though: 

Defining success is subjective and very much dependent upon situational data.

For example, the New York Times reviewed the Colorado Symphony’s 1974 Carnegie Hall concert but not this recent one.  In fact they responded rudely when contacted with a review request. Actual quote: “Why would we review YOU??”  Of course that stung. We are a major symphony orchestra with numerous commercial recordings, important partnerships, and a decades long history of commissioning and premiering new works.  Regardless, it would’ve been helpful to our team to have a critical review from a respected major news organization.  

One might look at this situation and determine that we missed the mark on a “Yes” success evaluation in this regard. The good news for us is the Times isn’t all that respected anymore.  So where gaining a Times review is concerned it’s a ‘No’, but since we sold out, received a standing ovation on both halves, got several other reviews, tons of press, and massive social media coverage it seems to indicate something more nuanced - “No, but”

Meanwhile, the success evaluation of their decision (and their communication style!) won’t even be an E for Effort. 🙅🏽

For fun I looked up the NYT review from 1974 back when we were the Denver Symphony and had a whole lot more of a midwest cowtown vibe. 

DENVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.

With John Ogdon, piano. Conducted by Brian Priestman At Carnegie Hall

Anacreon Overture - Cherubini

Concerto for Orchestra - Bennett

Piano Concerto No. 2 - Shostakovich

Symphony No. 7 - Dvorak

By HAROLD C. SCHONBERG

From out of the West to Carnegie Hall came the Denver Symphony Orchestra on Monday evening. Brian Priestman conducted and John Ogdon was the piano soloist. Mr. Priestman, a British conductor, clearly has an unconventional turn of mind. The first half of his program was devoted to novelties—Cherubin's “Anacreon” Overture, Richard Rodney Bennett's Concerto for Orchestra and Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto. Then came the standard work, which was the Dvorak D minor Symphony.

Mr. Priestman has trained a nice group. The Denver Symphony, like most American orchestras outside the megalopolis areas, is a little below full strength, but that does not prevent it from playing with polish and spirit. Smooth strings; good solo playing; accurate ensemble; and spirited interpretations under Mr. Priestman's lively baton.

What with Priestman, Ogdon and Bennett, there was a definite British flavor to the evening. Mr. Bennett's Concerto for Orchestra, composed in 1973, was a commission from the Colorado Chapter of the English‐speaking Union.

It is a three‐movement, 23 minute work that starts with a tone row that Benjamin Britten had used in one of his works. Mr. Bennett manipulates this around in approved fashion. But he is not doctrinaire about it, and the last two movements are tonal and even melodious. The score is a pleasant, eclectic, unimportant work.

Much the same can be said of the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2. Composed for Maxim Shostakovich, the composer's pianist son, it is a skillfully crafted work that does not ask too much from the pianist. The first and third movements are lighthearted and even skittish; the second is extremely melodic. Mr. Ogdon played this frothy work with some rather undue solemnity. Everything was neatly, carefully arranged, and the pianist got a good hand.

Considering Mr. Priestman's effort to come to New York with an out‐of‐the‐way program, it is a pity that he did not continue and look into one of the less‐played Dvorak symphonies. It is understandable that he and his orchestra wanted to show what they could do in a standard work, but the Dvorak set of symphonies contains several that would have shown off the orchestra to equally brilliant effect. No. 3 in E flat; or No. 5 in F, which the Prague Symphony played two seasons back (and a gorgeous work it is); or No. 6 in D.

Anyway, there was no quarreling with the spirit and enjoyment of this performance of No. 7 in D minor. Mr. Priestman conducted it with fast tempos and a good deal of temperament, and his orchestra responded nobly. The sound, too, was unusually rich, and this was surprising in an orchestra that has but seven bass fiddles. It means that the conductor has a good ear, and that the orchestra gives just a little bit more. An enjoyable concert from a fine orchestra.

***

Not exactly a marketing dream with such heady inspirational pull quotes as:

“An enjoyable concert from a fine orchestra.”

“Smooth strings; good solo playing; accurate ensemble…”

and this absolute gusher

“Mr. Priestman has trained a nice group.”

It wasn’t a BAD review but the review itself was kinda lackluster.  

🤷🏽So… success?🤷🏻‍♀️  Definitely subjective. 

Even though it’s not as exciting as rocket stuff 🚀 or standing ovations at Carnegie Hall 🎻 I will share the super nerdy NYC tour goal I had which ended with what felt to me like a ‘wompwomp’ evaluation but maybe now I’ll elevate to “No, and” since I can still use it here. 🤓🤓🤓  (Serious nerd alert by the way… )

Goal: to take photos of moments that illustrate the 3 basic textures in music so I could use them in a blog post and/or as teaching tools.

Planning data: 

• monophony - a single line or melody - →, 

• homophony - a combined movement of melody and harmony together - ♒︎,

• polyphony - multiple lines of music moving independently of one another - ❄︎.  

The disappointing, yet somehow Nominal, (“No/Yes, and/but”) Results:

1. Monophony - Lined up single file to board the flight →

2. Homophony - On the bus making our way together through rush hour Manhattan traffic ♒︎

   

3. Polyphony - Fending for ourselves like individual feral travelers at baggage claim ❄︎

Not my best work. But not the worst either. You can't tell me you didn't learn something! 🤓

One really nice surprise and a clear indicator of the success of the tour was coming home to Boettcher Concert Hall to find this hero's welcome ❤️❤️❤️

Did I lay down on the stage at the start of intermission to nab this photo?

YOU BETTER BELIEVE I DID.

#️⃣notfiredyet #️⃣thankyoutomytrainerfortheabcrunches #️⃣practicepracticepractice

How do you navigate challenges?  Strive for, and define, success?  Do you have any juicy failure or disaster stories to share?  Any go-to philosophies or quotes?  Hit the comments below!  I’d love to learn from you!