Culture corner

Marshall McGuire

Executive manager of artistic planning of the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra for a year

WABN: Describe a day at work.

MM: “A typical day is juggling time zones to talk to Sydney and Los Angeles first, then London and Berlin at the end of the day. The in-between times are spent doing a heap of stuff which keeps the creative wheels of the organization turning – booking artists, planning repertoire, scheduling the orchestra rehearsals, booking venues, liaising with marketing, corporate development, orchestral management or funding bodies.”

WABN: What is the best piece of advice you can give someone to motivate a team?

MM: “When I was a freelance musician I was touring five months every year and I had to have a lot of management skills and flexibility, to be organized and proactive.

The hardest thing now is to work in an office and dealing with that. I am used to work form home and to be in a different environment, I had to get used to this new conditions.

In addition I used to be working on a project with certain people and organizations and it would have a finalized date, it’s different now and you learn to adapt to the circumstances.

“I don’t feel that I have to motivate anybody, everyone is quite driven. You lead by example; if you have energy, commitment and integrity it’s easy.”

WABN: What was the most challenging event in your career?

MM: “Every concert that a musician does is a challenge.”

WABN: What’s best measurement of your performance, and can you name a highlight in your career?

MM: “Success is measured in many ways in this job – the response of the audience to the programs we have prepared for 2008, the satisfaction the players in the orchestra receive from engaging musical programs, and the intangible feeling of leaving a concert feeling better than when you went in – that last one is an important one which is hard to measure.

A highlight would have to been my first ever performance with a professional orchestra at the age of 17 – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Franz Paul Decker, in performances of Ricahrd Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben [A Hero’s Life]. An unforgettable experience, and an engagement that set me on the path to a professional music career. I’m sure that next year’s opening Masters concert with WASO in March will be a highlight – Act III of Wagner’s great opera The Valkyrie, preceeded by the world premiere of James Ledger’s new fanfare.

WABN: Who is someone that you dream to work with?

MM: “Our new Principal Conductor Paul Daniel is a dream musician – full of ideas, relaxed but highly organized, a team player, more lie a chamber musician than an old-fashioned dictatorial maestro, keen to engage existing audiences and embrace new ones, and a first rate musician.

WABN: Which personality inspired you the most throughout your career?

MM: “I’m inspired by people who have a palpable joy in their work, no matter what it is. There have been numerous examples of these people who have propelled me along in my own career.”

WABN: What were you doing before your current position?

MM: “The life of a fulltime freelance musician is a busy one – mostly spent touring around the world [last year was 5 months spent in hotel rooms] – the glamour soon goes!

“In addition, my roles as curator of chamber music for Sydney Festival, Music Director of National Music Camp, and the curator of the inaugural Utzom Room Music Series at the Sydney Opera House have been a perfect preparation for this position with WASO.

“As a performing musician I spent a lot of time managing my own timetables and programs, and this translates well into my current position with WASO, although life in an orchestral is full-on, it is always about providing a new challenge and exciting opportunities for creating magical musical moments.”