The God of Conducting Starting from Absolute Pitch

Chapter 304 Orchestra Academy Program
Chen Qiu was not aware of the handling of the matter by Wu Jianhai or Professor Li Anguo of the neighboring Haicheng Conservatory of Music.

He simply led the orchestra to follow Li Miaomiao's design, streamlined the orchestra's personnel, and performed.

Then Chen Qiu was shocked.

Li Miaomiao's staff-streamlining design is much better than what he did.

Not only was everyone's work clearly divided, both the front and backstage were kept in perfect order, and even when they were performing on stage, they completely forgot that their band was a small band of only thirty people, rather than a large band with perfect logistics.

As for those musicians working in the logistics department, they don’t feel like they are just pure logistics personnel, they just feel like they are doing something out of the box.

Both logistics and performances are carried out smoothly.

It was obvious that the orchestra was in much better condition on the second day than on the first day.

Not only did the musicians feel better, but the audience who were attracted by the orchestra's pop concerts also felt very good.

In the middle of the orchestra's performance, when Chen Qiu led the orchestra to interact with the audience, they also interacted with Chen Qiu happily, and occasionally someone would even cheer from the audience.

The whole concert was centered around joy.

While ensuring professionalism, Chen Qiu and the Harmony Symphony Orchestra brought a happy night to every audience member who came to the Harmony Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.

Although not many of the most expensive tickets were sold, the revenue from the entire concert was only a little over 70,000 yuan, and the salary allocated to each musician might be less than 1,000 yuan.

But just for this pleasant feeling, they are willing to accept a slightly lower income.

Moreover, they all knew that the reason why they were able to sell so many tickets on the first day of the first performance was not only because of their own strength and song selection, but also because some people related to the Harmony Symphony Orchestra came to show their support.

Otherwise they would have no chance of being fully booked on the first day.

In this way, the second day's popular symphony concert came to an end amid the joyful laughter of the orchestra and the audience.

The next day, without any surprise, the Harmony Symphony Orchestra was featured in that week's Musicians Magazine, and just like the Japanese version, it received a high score of 9.0.

If this high score is calculated in the previous way, and if Chen Qiu and the Harmony Symphony Orchestra do not perform too weakly in subsequent performances, then they will definitely be in the top five this year.

After all, you have to know that the Haicheng Radio Symphony Orchestra, which ranked fifth last year, only scored 8.8 points.

If they can maintain a stable 9 points, they will definitely be able to take a pivotal position in Haicheng.

It can also steadily rank among the top 100 nationwide, and even has the hope of entering the top 50.

As for the world rankings...

That's not clear.

When it comes to the world rankings, people look more at a range.

There are not particularly big differences between symphony orchestras in the same range.

For example, the symphony orchestras ranked 996th in the world and 504th in the world are normally classified as regional symphony orchestras in the 501-999 range.

The ranking of 201-500 is the level of Wang Haicheng Philharmonic Orchestra, a transitional orchestra from a regional symphony orchestra to a national symphony orchestra.

The range of 101-200 is where national symphony orchestras stay, such as the Jiangzhou Symphony Orchestra next door, and the Haicheng Symphony Orchestra is also currently in this position.

51-100. The orchestras in this place are basically national-level symphony orchestras on their way to becoming world-class symphony orchestras.

For example, China's current top symphony orchestra, the China Symphony Orchestra led by Yu Tu, is currently ranked 56th in the world. With luck, it can enter the top 50, but with bad luck, it will fall down. It is unstable.

As for 21st to 50th place, they are world-class symphony orchestras. Basically, the strongest symphony orchestras in the world are in this range.

The top 20 symphony orchestras are the pinnacle of the world's symphony orchestras. Each of them is a top symphony orchestra with a legendary resume, such as the previously mentioned Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, etc.

They are no longer just representatives of a place, they have even become representatives of a country.

This is the current ranking of symphony orchestras around the world.

All are comprehensive rankings.

Chen Qiu and his team are now ranked eighth in Haicheng, and with the current score, there is a chance that they will be ranked fifth in Haicheng.

They didn't say that they would first become the first in Haicheng, then advance to play against the first in eastern China, and then advance to play against the first in China, the first in East Asia, the first in Asia, and then fight their way up step by step.

I just want to give it a relatively high ranking to make it sound better. As long as there are enough adjectives in front of it, no one can beat me.

Otherwise, even though they can be ranked eighth in Haicheng, every time they say that the Harmony Symphony Orchestra is ranked 3000+ in the world, then no matter how strong the Harmony Symphony Orchestra is, it will appear to be too weak.

Maybe a lot of viewers will be lost later.

Chen Qiu looked at the rating given to them by the Musicians Magazine in Haicheng, as well as the comment "If you have time, I strongly recommend you go and listen to it", nodded with satisfaction, looked at Professor Li Anguo in front of him, and spoke to him with a smile.

"Professor Li Anguo, it seems that our orchestra's performance this time was quite good. It should be considered a good start in Haicheng, right? Now you should tell me what your orchestra academy plan is specifically about?"

Chen Qiu blinked at Professor Li Anguo, as if he was joking.

Professor Li Anguo was not surprised that Chen Qiu actually knew the name of the "Orchestra Academy" project. He just nodded and said slowly.

"Well, of course, this plan was made for you."

After saying that, Professor Li Anguo opened the drawer of his desk, took out a locked document, handed it to Chen Qiu, and spoke slowly.

"The Orchestra Academy Plan is a plan to establish a new music academy, which is jointly established by the school's conducting department, the school's orchestral department, the Haicheng Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, the Haicheng Symphony Orchestra, the Haicheng Opera House Symphony Orchestra, the Haicheng Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Haicheng Municipal Symphony Orchestra, and is jointly customized with the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Jiangzhou Symphony Orchestra and other eastern music schools."

"New...conservatory of music?"

Chen Qiu was stunned, and his brain was unable to react for a moment.

What does the establishment of a new music conservatory have to do with him?

When Su Yue told him that the school had this plan that night, he thought it was just to set up a department or something, but he never imagined that it was actually to set up a school?
This...shouldn't we contact the Ministry of Education?

What does this have to do with him?
Could it be that they want him to be the dean?
But the next second, Professor Li Anguo explained his doubts to him.

Professor Li Anguo said slowly.

“Although the Orchestra Academy is said to be a brand new school, it is not actually like that. Instead, it is based on the Haicheng Conservatory of Music and is affiliated with the Haicheng Conservatory of Music. Compared with the current symphony orchestra that is independent of the teaching department, the overall benchmark should be the Karajan Academy of Music of the Berlin Philharmonic. The school and the co-founded symphony orchestras will assign teachers to tutor students in the academy and guide their symphony skills to prepare them for their subsequent entry into professional symphony orchestras.”

Professor Li Anguo stood up, walked to the archive nearby, took out a pile of documents, handed them to Chen Qiu, and then pointed at the documents.

"It's not just the musicians of the orchestra, it's also the conductor, because this plan is actually a follow-up development of the talent training plan for the Conducting Department. Just as I told you before, Chen Qiu, do you think the school can find a second person to replace you as the conductor of the orchestra?"

Chen Qiu looked at Professor Li Anguo in front of him, thought for a moment, and then slowly shook his head.

"If I am used as a benchmark, I have not seen such a student in the school at present. However, among all the commanders, there should be many who are at my current level, right?"

"Well, but those conductors all have their own things to do. Some of the conductors who have more free time are not as good as you. Therefore, I will recommend you as the first resident conductor of the orchestra academy. The benefit of being a resident conductor will be that you can give priority to choosing members to join your harmony symphony orchestra!"

Chen Qiu looked at Professor Li Anguo in front of him with a slightly surprised expression, and then couldn't help but frown.

Professor Li Anguo’s meaning is actually very clear.

It is still the same as the Haicheng Conservatory of Music Harmony Symphony Orchestra before.

Chen Qiu continued to come and serve as the conductor of the school orchestra.

But this time, compared to the previous time when Chen Qiu led the band alone, the school will provide more resources to train the musicians in the orchestra and help them grow.

They would even ask the top commanders in Haicheng to lead the team to reduce Chen Qiu's burden.

Chen Qiu can also train his own direct descendants in such an orchestra, and those musicians can directly enter the Harmony Symphony Orchestra after graduation every year. The musicians that Chen Qiu does not need can also be evaluated by other symphony orchestras.

Compared with those musicians recruited from the society, these newcomers with the highest resource investment are actually more suitable for them.

And according to what Professor Li Anguo said, it seems that it is not just about Chen Qiu leading the orchestra to fight and that’s it.

He also plans to let these students intern in other symphony orchestras and gain more training with them.

Therefore, the orchestra academy program is not just a continuation of the conductor training program, but actually an improvement in the training of orchestra musicians.

The only problem is that although Chen Qiu can have priority in choosing this place, the prerequisite for priority is that the musicians in the school choose Chen Qiu. Under the same conditions, Chen Qiu can take the musician first.

If the Haicheng Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras perform too strongly, then a situation will arise where although Chen Qiu is given priority, no one wants to go to the Harmony Symphony Orchestra.

Therefore, in addition to the benefits, the orchestra conductor must have enough courage and believe that he can surpass other orchestras and conductors in order to be considered the most suitable member for this position.

But does Chen Qiu lack this courage?

It is obvious that Chen Qiu is not lacking.

He is full of confidence in himself.

Thinking of this, Chen Qiu nodded slightly and said slowly.

"Well, yes, I have no problem with that. I can serve as the resident conductor of the orchestra academy program. However, I must make one thing clear. I may still need to focus on the development of my Harmony Symphony Orchestra, and the attention paid to the school symphony orchestra may not be as high as before."

"Of course, that's no problem."

Professor Li Anguo nodded, without any surprise on his face.

After all, they had all discussed that the core of this plan was Chen Qiu.

As long as Chen Qiu can agree to them and become the core of the current orchestra academy plan, there will be no problem.

After confirming that Chen Qiu had approved their plan, Professor Li Anguo put away the plan in front of the two people and asked casually.

"By the way, I haven't asked you yet, how is the music season plan you talked about with those people going? By the way, is the band's website ready?"

“We’re still working on this, but the overall music season has been set up pretty much.”

Chen Qiu also had a relaxed look on his face, and smiled at Professor Li Anguo.

"Because our orchestra doesn't have much contact and cooperation with other orchestras, most of the works are produced by ourselves. We haven't been able to invite other top conductors like the Haicheng Philharmonic and Haicheng Symphony. Therefore, apart from a piano solo and piano concerto with Fu Diao, there are no other separate performances."

"Hmm? So you mean, your band will be performing on their own for the entire next year?"

"Of course!"

Chen Qiu grinned, took out the package he had put aside, handed it to Professor Li Anguo, and said to Professor Li Anguo.

"Our orchestra's current plan is to perform three times a week, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We rest or rent out the concert hall on weekdays. I choose lighter pieces for Friday, such as Mozart and Haydn, which are not so tiring to listen to. For Saturday, we will choose the core pieces of the orchestra, such as Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ravel, which are more serious. As for Sunday night, we will play some pop music to relax and prepare for next week's performance."

“Three games a week…”

Professor Li Anguo looked at the brochure handed over by Chen Qiu, fell into deep thought after reading the contents on it, and then asked Chen Qiu.

"Can you guys handle it?"

“It’s not bad actually. Although it’s a bit tiring, this kind of high-intensity performance will greatly enhance the growth of musicians. Even though it’s difficult for us to prepare some works in the most perfect manner, we won’t perform too badly.”

Chen Qiu responded with a smile.

His requirements for the symphony orchestra are similar to those in Europe.

It takes about two days to complete a set of works.

Prepare for two to three concerts a week.

There is no time to rest. Every day I am either preparing for a concert or on the way to prepare for a concert.

By letting the orchestra work non-stop, can they enter a flow state and be completely immersed in the music?

Only in this way can the orchestra be improved in the shortest possible time.

It won’t be the case that when Chen Qiu is in his seventies, eighties, or even nineties, the orchestra is still stuck at number one in Haicheng, unable to move up to number one in the country, let alone the top 50 in the world.

Of course, one of Chen Qiu’s goals is not just to improve the level of the orchestra, but also to sell more tickets and help the band members earn more money.

If there are enough people, Chen Qiu actually wants to provide some nocturnes, solos and other small concerts for ordinary audiences on weekday evenings.

Or a chamber concert of a polyphonic ensemble.

Chen Qiu asked the orchestra members to organize these concerts themselves, and he did not participate in them except for rehearsals.

If there were concerts every night.

We don't aim to sell 10 tickets each time. Even if the ticket revenue is only around 2, half of it will be deducted for the orchestra's own operating costs, and the remaining money can be divided among the musicians themselves. Even if it is a quintet, each person can get around 5k.

In this way, the musician’s salary may exceed 30,000.

If you are lucky, you might be able to earn 50,000 or 60,000 yuan a month.

It sounds very tempting, but...

No one except Qin Xian could endure this hardship.

There was no way they could prepare another set of works for solo performance after three days of intensive performance.

That would not be the way human beings live.

It's simply torture!
Everyone is here to enjoy the music and improve themselves while enjoying the music, not to go to jail!
Therefore, Chen Qiu had no choice but to let everyone decide on their own. If anyone wanted to hold a concert, they could contact him and add a performance temporarily.

The concert hall is empty anyway, so why not give it to the band members?

Chen Qiu said to Professor Li Anguo with a smile.

"Professor Li, do you want to buy an annual ticket package? We start with 100 performances a year, and the lowest ticket package for the entire music season is only 4999. Would you consider it?"

"You're planning to sell tickets to me?"

Professor Li Anguo looked at Chen Qiu helplessly, pinched his eyebrows with a slight headache, and sighed slowly.

"Forget about buying the cheapest package. I don't have that much money. But I can see if there are any extra opportunities for cooperation at school. I can cooperate with you to provide subsidies and give students in the school low-priced tickets to listen to your concert. But since you said that you are actually fine and can still handle it, then it's just right. You can come with me and we will go to Wu Jianhai's place."

"Wu Jianhai?"

Chen Qiu was stunned and looked at Professor Li Anguo who stood up and took the car keys in front of him, puzzled.

"Is there anything going on with Chief Wu Jianhai?"

"Nothing, it's just that the Haicheng Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra and the Haicheng Opera House Symphony Orchestra have collaborated. Wu Jianhai has decided to recommend you to be the conductor of their annual drama and to tour their annual work across the country."

Professor Li Anguo opened the door, looked at Chen Qiu who was in a daze behind him, and said slowly.

"The one you played before, the Mozart opera..."

“The Marriage of Figaro!”

(End of this chapter)