Nathaniel Berman to oversee two winter concerts at UCSC
Breathes there a soul so dim who has not played at being a music conductor? Picking up a stick, or pencil, or whatever, and keeping time to some infectious music? Well, that’s what Nathaniel Berman does for a living. At first glance, he is a deceptively casual mixed metaphor. A shock of electrified hair punctuates a lean post-hipster style. Capable of concealing his prankster wit behind a professional demeanor, the tireless music director works miracles with performance groups, from symphonic to chorale.
Splitting his time between Santa Cruz and the East Bay, Berman started his musical life with the trumpet. “I learned quickly, but I was never the first trumpet,” Berman says. He recalls jamming with his jazz pianist dad, and as the years rolled by continued to grow into musical maturity as a performer, conductor and singer.
Originally from pastoral North Sacramento, Berman went to high school in Pacific Grove before doing both undergraduate and graduate work at UCSC. Berman credits Professor Nicole Paiement as “the defining influence upon me as a musician. The richness of experience I’m now having, the model she gave me of working in many different genres of music, all came out of her creativity,” he says.
Then came the move to San Francisco. “I just started applying for jobs. At first,” he adds with a laugh, “I applied for way too ambitious jobs.” Landing a day job in Pacific Heights, Berman started “looking for conducting jobs at churches and putting out a resume as a singer and a conductor.”
How does one become a conductor? “The wise conductor schmoozes,” Berman says. “The ones like me work their way up. I’ve tried to do the good solid work and keep an eye out for opportunities.” Opportunities came. While conducting in San Francisco and on the music faculty at UCSC, Berman worked as music director at St. Matthews in San Mateo, crafting a career out of a suite of gigs. Currently Assistant Conductor at Peninsula Symphony, Music Director of the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony and Lecturer with the UCSC music department, Berman just can’t say no. A new passion is conducting the SF-based Wild Rumpus, a new music collective devoted to “music of the moment by young and up-and-coming composers.” New music, he admits, is the hardest challenge. “Each new music score is a huge learning curve—I sweat blood!” he says. Plate not full enough? Berman will conduct the Dec. 6 Winter Opera at UCSC—Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors—and the Concert Choir’s performance of Baroque Oratorios at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4.
Once interested in an acting career, Berman will use his dramatic instincts as well as lifelong musical experience in the upcoming production of Amahl. Here’s how it works. “To prepare I make sure I have the score in advance. Way in advance. Then I go over it many, many times, first for the story, then I analyze and annotate for the harmonies. Then I go back through the entire score, think about the parts and their interaction, and mark up the score with reminders to myself,” he says.
Then I play the piece at the piano and sing it for myself. The important thing,” he stresses, “is that this all happens over time—it’s a daily practice.” Rehearsals begin with singers and finally with the entire ensemble, singers and orchestra. “The director helps the singers relate to the role and to the instruments,” he says.
Why does it all work? “I believe I can foster good feelings with musicians about working together. The spirit of interaction—I think I’m good at that,” he says. “In rehearsal I’m so energized that I can keep people engaged.” Focus, patience, expressive hands, Berman brings it all to long rehearsal sessions. “The conductor has to help keep it vibrant, keep the energy high,” he says. And since I sing contralto with Berman’s Concert Choir, I must confess he succeeds. The key to his skill in shaping confident performances from singers of all levels of ability is his grasp of improbable yet illuminating metaphors for difficult musical points. Nothing is too far-fetched—Berman will use examples from computer gaming to sit-com—whatever works. His students love it.
Favorite music? “I especially love Baroque music, but I love discovering stuff that I don’t know. And,” he adds with a wicked gleam in his eye, “I like the Beach Boys.”
‘Baroque Oratorios’, UCSC Concert Choir, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4; Family Opera, ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 6. UCSC Music Recital Hall. arts.ucsc.edu/news_events/family-opera-amahl-and-night-visitors
PRACTICE IN THE PIT Nathaniel Berman conducts a rehearsal of UCSC’s Winter Opera—Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors,’ for a Dec. 6 concert. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER
