Age seems to be a nonissue for young assistant conductor

12.30.07
James Feddeck
Commercial Appeal

James Feddeck had just what the Memphis Symphony Orchestra was looking for.

Young and mature, energetic yet composed, knowledgeable but thirsting to learn more.

A nice kid when you meet him, but he soon shows that he's no lightweight.

James Feddeck had just what the Memphis Symphony Orchestra was looking for.

Young and mature, energetic yet composed, knowledgeable but thirsting to learn more.

A nice kid when you meet him, but he soon shows that he's no lightweight.

In September, the 24-year-old wunderkind who is barely out of college jumped into his new job as assistant conductor of the MSO. He has assumed some of the duties held by Vincent Danner who was associate conductor until his departure this year after 12 seasons.

Feddeck won't be handling the pops concerts as Danner did -- those will now be led by guest conductors. But the new guy's plate is plenty full conducting educational and family concerts while becoming expert in how a symphony orchestra functions. A key duty will be to cover all the concerts led by Maestro David Loebel or guest conductors.

"In the event they are unable to conduct, it's my responsibility to do the rehearsals or performances," Feddeck says. "It's a tremendously exciting opportunity because I have to have that level of preparation available but also I am at all of the rehearsals. It always interests me to see how other conductors achieve their artistic vision and how that might affect what I would do."

That's exactly what the orchestra wants says conductor and music director Loebel. "He has to be prepared, technically equipped and communicate clearly with the orchestra -- and be enthusiastic."

Feddeck is invaluable as another set of ears for his mentor, but there's an even deeper kinship. "This is a tremendously difficult profession to get started in," says Loebel. The maestro himself landed a rare break when he got out of college and the Syracuse Symphony hired him on in a position similar to Feddeck's.

Doing the same favor for the next generation is something Loebel has wanted to do ever since, especially since the conducting field is notoriously difficult to break into. "Nobody will give you a chance if you haven't had experience and you can't get experience without a chance."

Now that he's got his chance, Feddeck has been immersing himself in all aspects of the MSO. That includes, of course, sampling Memphis sounds outside of the concert hall, and is wowed that so many of the influences of blues and jazz are rooted here. "I guess I'd been surprised to discover how important Memphis has been to those distinctly American genres."

So he's especially relishing his role in the MSO's partnership with the Soulsville Charter School. "I was pleased that the music legacy is being kept alive," Feddeck says. "It's enormously profitable to an organization like the Symphony that is also musical to have as its' neighbors these tremendous influences."

In that same vein, the structure of the family concerts has him pumped. The Symphony and the Memphis City Schools get together to plan what is not just a single concert but a course of study. "What is wonderful about this is that it's an interdisciplinary curriculum," Feddeck says, "not just about the composer and his life and the piece. That's part of it, but it ties to what the students might be studying in science or geography or history."

While he quite naturally embraces the connection to young people, the fact that he's pretty young himself has been a consideration when dealing with the MSO, which has members who have been playing longer than Feddeck has been alive.

Yet his enthusiasm, knowledge and professionalism seems to have made that a non-issue.

For one thing, as Loebel dryly notes, "We can't help it, you know. I think it takes 30 years to figure out how to be a conductor, but you've got to be somewhere."

For a conducting aspirant entering a professional orchestra with limited experience, even the best schooling can only go so far. "You just have to jump in and do it," Loebel says. "When you can't study anymore, you have to be smart enough to pick up what you need to know seeing the orchestra in action."

As for the musicians, age doesn't seem to matter a great deal. Betsy Carter, a substitute trumpet player and the orchestra's librarian, says she hears the internal buzz. "He stood out in auditions," she says, recalling when he first stood before the MSO a year ago. "You get a whole bunch of young candidates and they stand in front and they hear a recording in their head. He's the opposite," she says, noting that he listens instead to the orchestra and doesn't direct according to a preconceived notion.

Feddeck got a good vibe early on. "The first moment I walked on stage at Cannon I felt a great collaborative relationship," he says. "My impression has been that the musicians are able to look beyond age and it's just about making great music, because music is ageless."

James Feddeck

Born: Nov. 10, 1983, in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Schooling: Bachelor's and master's degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in oboe and organ performance as well as conducting. Studied conducting at the University of Michigan and attended American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School under mentorship of David Zinman.

Experience: Assistant conductor of the Oberlin Conservatory orchestras, Cleveland's "Red" (an orchestra); award-winning organist who has performed recitals around the world.

Became assistant conductor at the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in September.