Haifa Symphony Orchestra International Masterclass

for Conductors 

 

Benjamin Northey

 

23^rd April 2007

After being accepted into the 2007 Haifa Symphony Orchestra International Masterclass for Conductors I was delighted to begin preparing for my trip with the generous support from the Nelly Apt Scholarship and guidance from MOST, specifically the excellent help and advice I received from Vivian Zeltzer. 

After submitting my budget, which was approved, I booked my travel through Qantas Travel and my insurance through QBE.   My flight went to Singapore and then to Ben Gurion with El Al airlines.  The security was reassuringly stringent as I noticed in the lounge in Singapore that a suicide bomber had struck in Eilat that day which was a little concerning.  Upon arrival in Israel my bags came out without incident and I met the driver who had been booked by the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem.  We drove to Jerusalem along the highway past Ramallah and I noticed people crossing the road on foot at about 4.30am which I felt was strange and made me a little unsettled.  We soon arrived at the hotel in East Jerusalem safely and I was checked in to a beautiful room with Arabic décor.  As I went out onto the balcony I heard the first call to prayer and really felt that I had arrived in the holy land finally!

After a good, albeit very short sleep I was woken by the front desk to inform me that the tour bus I had arranged for the old city was waiting for me.  I threw on some clothes, grabbed my video camera and ran downstairs to meet it.  There were six others on the tour including two people from Adelaide.  The driver was an Israeli who took us past the Garden of Olives to a lookout over the old city.  It was an overcast day and he told us that it would be quiet in the city.

We drove to the old city and saw the Western Wall, the Tomb of David, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and many of the old narrow streets and other sights.  It was an incredibly moving experience that I will never forget.  There weren’t many people around and we were able to walk into the various sites without having to wait.  It was very peaceful.  I was able to take many pictures and videotape the whole thing.

After much needed rest I travelled by taxi to Haifa and checked in to the Dan Panorama Hotel where the other participants in the course were staying.  There was a satchel in my room with a welcome package from the course organisers, which was a great sign for the organization of the course.  We had a rendezvous the following morning and were met by our chaperone who was on loan from the Haifa Conservatory.  She was wonderful the whole week.

Our first session involved meeting Jorma Panula the master teacher who I knew very well already and also Noam Sherrif.  Noam was a very warm and gregarious man I could tell immediately.  He spoke and welcomed us all before we moved onto conducting the works with two pianos for the rest of the day.

The following day was the first with the orchestra.  The orchestra were a fine bunch of mainly Russian born musicians.  We took turns to conducting them with various works, in my case Mussourgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.  It was great fun.  The sessions were all videoed and the following morning we watched the first session with Jorma Panula.   As usual he was incredibly insightful and helpful, it was a real privilege to be there with him. 

This structure of sessions with the orchestra and videos continued throughout the week with additional lectures from Noam Sherrif and a professor from the Tel-Aviv conservatory who was fascinating and one of Noam’s best friends. 

We also managed to do some sightseeing with a day trip to a city called Ako which was a excavated Templar city and fascinating to see.  We also saw the Baha’i Temple in Haifa, which was very impressive.  Another highlight was a reception at the Finnish Ambassador’s residence in Tel-Aviv and a dinner at a major patron of the orchestra’s house on Shabbat compete with dried fruit and traditional Israeli food.  

After the 9 days of masterclass we finally were given works to conduct in the concert.  I conducted the Schumann Cello Concerto with the principal cellist from the orchestra as the soloist.  I was very pleased with the performance, as was Jorma Panula, which was very gratifying.  We were all presented with a certificate of achievement and a baton commemorating this historic event in Haifa.

I returned to Tel-Aviv and after a long process getting through customs finally began the long trip home through London and Singapore.  I had plenty of time to reflect on my experience of this inspiring and beautiful part of the world. I found the people to be very hospitable and interesting to get to know.  I made many new friends who I am still in touch with and will never forget this time in Israel.