In Friday’s (7/29) Washington Post, Katherine Boyle writes, “The conductor stifled his usual grin. Something didn’t seem right. After the orchestra finished rehearsing ‘La Gallina’ with the Latin-funk band Ozomatli, he studied his score, perplexed … ‘There are some interesting sounds at bar 107,’ he said, his voice evoking the tones of a mid-century radio broadcaster. … After the piece was played one more time, the National Symphony Orchestra’s new principal pops conductor, Steven Reineke, named in February, ended the rehearsal with a cheery, ‘That works for me.’ ‘You guys cool with that?’ he asked. All was cool. Later that evening, the audience issued a more riotous verdict, with strangers adjoining hands and shoulders to form a massive conga line that snaked through the Kennedy Center’s packed Concert Hall. This week Reineke begins his three-year tenure at Wolf Trap, conducting ‘Disney in Concert: Magical Music From the Movies.’ … [Reineke] exudes a go-with-the-tempo style that sometimes moves his rehearsals into jam-session territory. … ‘I come from a player’s mentality,’ said Reineke, 40,” who played trumpet. “ ‘Orchestras know within 30 seconds whether you have the wherewithal to be up there. I think of myself as a coach, not a dictator.’ ” Reineke is also music director of the New York Pops and principal pops conductors of the Long Beach and Modesto orchestras.
Posted August 1, 2011
