SLO Symphony welcomes its first female conductor
Laura Jackson doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of an orchestral conductor — “the scowling Toscanini with the Einstein hair,” as she puts it.
Rather, Jackson, who’s in her seventh season as music director of the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, is a sprightly woman with cropped brunette hair and grey eyes that spark with excitement.
On Saturday, Jackson will become the first woman to conduct the San Luis Obispo Symphony in its 55-year history. She’ll lead the orchestra and its guest soloist, violinist Caroline Goulding, in concert Saturday at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo.
Despite her passion for conducting, Jackson didn’t always dream of stepping up to the podium.
“As a little girl, I can remember lying awake at night and (thinking) about playing the violin at Carnegie Hall,” recalled the Virginia native, who earned her undergraduate degree at Indiana University. “I had no thoughts whatsoever of being a conductor.”
Yet, after 12 years as a professional musician and music teacher in the Boston area, Jackson felt compelled to pick up the baton. She earned her doctorate in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan in 2005, and served as assistant conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2007.
Jackson said she’s looking forward to leading the San Luis Obispo Symphony.
In store are performances of Maurice Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite — Five Children’s Pieces,” Zhou Tian’s “Violin: Concerto (The Infinite Dance)” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
“There’s a thread of dance that goes through the whole program,” Jackson said.
In his “Mother Goose Suite,” Ravel creates “a very transparent, delicate, wonderful sound world,” Jackson said, calling him and Tian “absolute masters at orchestral color.”
Speaking of Tian, she said, “He’s just a brilliant, brilliant composer who writes gorgeously melodic, lyrical music that sweeps audiences away on first hearing. … It’s also very intelligent music.”
Jackson had equally high praise for Beethoven’s simple yet effective Symphony No. 7. “There’s always something for the listener to hold on to, something that drives the energy forward,” she said.
Jackson recently chatted with The Tribune about her work as a conductor.
Q: You first became interested in conducting in college. What attracted you?
A: I was so fascinated sitting in an orchestra hearing how all of these different sounds can create anything.
You have a bassoon and a tuba and a timpani and a double bass and cymbals — just all these different personalities of instruments. You put them all together and suddenly you have this organism that can … create any emotion and any sound color you can imagine.
Q: How did playing violin help you as a conductor?
A: Playing anywhere in the orchestra helps you.
There’s nothing more helpful than being part of (a section) and feeling the way that that gives life, a river, a pulse, to a piece of music. Every perspective from within enables you to stand in front of (a group) and actually lead better.
Q: Did your violinist past hinder you in any way?
A: I would have to study the details and make sure I was really in touch with the lower (registers).
I was so violin-heavy. I was so melody-focused. I had to refocus my perspective and my hearing so I was hearing everything.
Q: How does confidence play into making that transition from musician to conductor?
A: For me, confidence comes from knowing the music really, really well, and from loving it deeply.
If I just try to act confident, it doesn’t work. But if I feel a deep conviction about something beyond me, something outside of me, then I can get myself together.
Q: How has being a woman in a field dominated by men affected your career?
A: It has given me some opportunities that I would not have had if I were not (female).
Q: For instance?
A: I’m the only American to have conducted in Algeria.
I was invited by the State Department. And they specifically wanted a female conductor to come and represent the U.S. to help them celebrate 50 years of independence from France. …
Most of the (job) searches I’ve ever been in I’m often the only woman. Perhaps other people see that as an uphill battle. I’ve always seen it as kind of cool.
Q: How would you describe your conducting style?
A: Enthusiasm and energy are the words I hear often.
When I’m doing a concert, I have the time of my life, period. There’s no experience like it.
In a lifetime, how many moments will I really have to be on a podium realizing this beautiful music, to be collaborating with all these people in this room and creating something gloriously beautiful? Not that many moments! So I don’t want to waste a single one.
Sarah Linn: 805-781-7907, @shelikestowatch
“Classics Concert III”
8 p.m. Saturday
Cohan Center, Cal Poly
$20 to $80
756-4849 or http://www.pacslo.org/
This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 11:06 AM with the headline "SLO Symphony welcomes its first female conductor."