Chapter 9.5 - Act 9: Whimsically 5 (2/2)

The Future Hall – the enormous hall which the Future Arts High prided themselves in, was filled with students and was definitely a sight to be seen.

1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. Every student of the Music Department had gathered for the master class today. Han Dasom who was likewise glancing around suddenly opened her mouth.

“Who was the person coming today again…?”

“Timothy Dickson. He is an extremely famous conductor.”

“A conductor…”

Han Dasom had an uncertain expression. Her expression reflected that even though she heard he was great, she didn’t know what was so great.

Seeing that, I nodded in understanding.

It was natural because Han Dasom probably hasn’t sung with a proper conductor yet. There was no need for a conductor when singing with one accompaniment after all and it was generally the accompaniment following us while we just sang however we wanted.

But choruses and opera done together with countless instruments was different.

At least four to five and at most tens of performers made sounds. If they all performed as they pleased, the resulting sound would obviously end up a mess because everyone had their own tempo and style.

And it was the conductor’s role to combine it into a united whole. The more performers there were, the bigger the impact of the conductor.

‘They’re literally people ‘conducting’ the stage.’

And that Timothy Dickson from all those conductors? He was a top conductor which no-one could ever deny, even though he had already retired.

When she heard my explanation, Han Dasom replied in admiration.

“I see… then is he teaching us how to conduct?”

“Hmm… I think he will show us an example by fine tuning our school’s orchestra team.”

“Fine tuning?”

“That’s how master classes normally go – the students perform and the teacher gives feedback. So I think our school’s seniors would perform and sir would edit it…”

Han Dasom made a disappointed expression.

“It’s the same as a lesson… right?”

I shrugged my shoulders once before turning back to the front.

In the end, that’s what singing was about because it was an artwork which others listened to.

We performed and receive feedback on how it sounded. Finding the best sound while repeating this process endlessly was the objective of the art called music, right?

While Han Dasom and I chatted, I caught sight of an old man entering the stage. He had white hair, a tiny build and a pair of sparkling blue eyes.

It was Timothy Dickson, the little giant that led the greatest opera company in New York.

It’d been a long time since I saw him alive…

I appreciated the sight before me with a myriad of emotions as his first words reached my ears.

[Hello young artists of Korea! It is great to meet you all like this. I’m Timothy Dickson.]

When the interpretation from the teacher in the corner of the hall ended, a thunderous round of applause filled the hall. Soon, the master class began muddled with expectation and excitement and turned out to be quite interesting.

First off, our school’s orchestra performed once at the stage and after seeing that, Sir Dickson gave feedback and talked about the things that needed to be improved.

The general gist was like this.

[It is better to express this song a bit faster. Should we have another go at it?]

[The violin is standing out a bit too much. Should we reduce it by a bit?]

[Excellent! Continue doing it that way.]

Just like that, he only threw out a few words at a time but the orchestra’s sound changed immediately. It made me realise once again why conductors were called conductors.

The method to mix sounds, and the ability to harmonise countless echoes as well as the way to form a gentle music – he taught us those things first hand. Although I wasn’t going to become a conductor, it was still very helpful.

Since music was usually done in groups, I had to match them to form a better sound.

The song presentation of the composing department was a great example.

Matching the sound with one piano accompaniment was hard enough and we had to do endless practice. Inside opera which utilised dozens of instruments… the thing called harmony couldn’t be any more important.

“…Harmony.”

I was nodding my head throughout as Sir Dickson’s master class came to an end. Now, it was time to meet the maestro Timothy Dickson which the principal had promised me with.

*

Thinking about it, it was my first time talking with Timothy Dickson.

During the master class in my previous life, I only watched him talk with the orchestra from a distance and received the news about his death after a few years.

Today could be my first and possibly my last day meeting him in my life.

With those strange thoughts in mind, I stared at the front when the principal gave a smile and reached out towards us while opening his mouth.

[Hello, sir maestro. These students here are our best students whom our school is proud of.]

[Ah, I see. I feel full of energy myself after seeing these passionate young men. Hi, I’m Timothy Dickson.]

[Hello!]

From up close, Sir Dickson appeared just like a humorous old gentleman. His voice fell softly as a full smile hung on his lips. It looked like he was enjoying everything happening in his life.

I thought it would be quite pressuring since I was meeting the maestro but he felt a lot closer than I thought.

After shaking the hands of each and every student present, Sir Dickson soon turned his head over and stared at the principal.

[Thanks for joining and helping me for my pastime activity. Mr Principal.]

[Haha, don’t mention it. We should be the ones thanking. Right guys?]

[Yes!]

We were of course grateful because Timothy Dickson was giving us advice. Sir Dickson surfaced a hazy smile before throwing a glance at us. As his eyes glanced over us standing in a line, he nodded and slowly opened his mouth.

[Future Performing Arts High School. I heard it was the school which gathered the greatest performing art students of Korea.]

The clear pair of eyes that did not suit his age stared deeply at our eyes one by one before abruptly closing itself.

[There was something this old man thought while retiring. It would be hard for me to stand on the stage so… what should I do? For music which gifted me with so many things, what could I do?]

In the midst of our silence, he smiled.

[Well, it’s also true that I had nothing to do after retiring.]

Within the faint rounds of laughter, he continued lightheartedly.

[So what I thought of was… to share everything I had to the youths that would lead the next generation, so that the world of music could widen even if by a small amount. If I die, everything I have would all disappear anyway so it’s better if others were to obtain it right?]

After stating that was the reason for the start of his travel, Sir Dickson opened his eyes.

[It would be good if I could provide even a little help in this country, Korea…]

He slurred his words towards the end before opening his mouth yet again.

[Let me hear your performances before anything.]