“People who take chances are usually more successful than those who play it safe.”
“Do you want to hear how I crashed in front of an 80-piece orchestra and 120-voice choir?”
So began Allan Friedman’s story of failure.
The lecturing fellow of Music got his undergraduate degree at Duke, and while he was working on his doctorate in conducting, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant choir conductor.
The choir’s director offered Friedman the opportunity to lead a 250-person orchestra in Duke Chapel. The piece was Verdi’s Requiem, a monumentally dramatic work of art.
“During the dress rehearsal, it was made very clear that every single minute we spent there was extremely valuable,” said Friedman. The performers were paid for a very specific amount of time, and they were paid quite a bit. Time was literally money.
“The director wanted to see how the piece felt from further back in the chapel,” said Friedman. “So, he gave me the chance to see what it was like to conduct so many people at once, which I’d never done.”
Friedman said it felt like the beginning of a baseball game, all nerves and excitement.
“I was so excited that I went way too fast,” said Friedman. “You could see all the string players who had to play the fastest notes getting horrified as I started conducting because they couldn't keep up.”
The director ran up the aisle and told Friedman to stop.
“I'm thinking, ‘oh God, I'm so embarrassed, what if I get fired because I can't do this?’”
Friedman tried again. Once again, nerves got the better of him and he crashed the ensemble by going too fast.
Even in the midst of the failure, people rallied around him. A cello player told him he was doing a good job.
Friedman, who is now the director of the Duke Chorale, said it was a learning experience he’s never forgotten.
“I tell this story to all my conducting classes,” he said. “I'd rather my students fail by taking a chance on something, than being too scared to try it in the first place.”
And the cello player that encouraged him? Whenever Friedman needs a cellist, she’s the first one he calls.