Leonard Weiss: podium experiences

New Zealand’s professional orchestras have made the second appointment to a national development role for conductors.

Leonard Weiss: New Zealand assistant conductor-in-residence

American conductor Marin Alsop often needs to explain what a conductor does.  “I’m the messenger for the composer,” says the revered maestra, “understanding why he or she wrote every single note, conveying that to the musicians and getting them all in the zone with me to get that message to the audience.”  Leonard Weiss, just-appointed New Zealand Assistant Conductor in Residence, describes his recent year of advanced conducting studies with Alsop as “a wild learning curve”.

Weiss is the second appointment to this national development position shared by our professional orchestras and designed, says Auckland Philharmonia’s CE, Barbara Glaser, “to build greater depth amongst emerging conductors within Australasia.” The APO manages the position which is funded by Creative New Zealand.

Weiss’s parents made sure he grew up immersed in music.  He played violin, trumpet, French horn and harp and began composing early. But he ruefully describes himself as “the most wooden conductor imaginable” in a youthful podium debut with his own compositions for school guitar orchestra.

More opportunities to conduct came Weiss’s way during university studies in composition and education. Conducting the Canberra Youth Orchestra, the National Capital Orchestra, and the Canberra Sinfonia, he honed the skills that took him to Baltimore to Alsop’s Masters in Conducting course in 2019.  

Conductor Marin Alsop

“…a tour de force.”

Her teaching was revelatory. “Marin is a tour de force,” he says. “Everything is done with such energy and intensity and amazing clarity of physical action and direction. She’s a great fan of ‘show don’t tell’.” Alsop’s Peabody Institute conducting students followed her programme with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. “A new symphony every week - we burned through repertoire.”

Weiss is delighted his new role here is overseen by the APO’s Music Director Giordano Bellincampi. “Having someone so skilled and experienced as conductor and teacher is a huge asset. He’s both caring and demanding, setting the bar as high as possible.”

Maestro Giordano Bellincampi with the APO

“…setting the bar as high as possible.”

This month Weiss leapt straight on to the APO podium conducting concerts for young audiences. Snow and Ice for a family audience on a Sunday afternoon ranged from Sibelius’s Finlandia to Frozen’s Let it go. As a new music champion, he was pleased to conduct a premiere by APO Rising Star Liam Pram and Salina Fisher’s Tupaia in a concert for secondary students in Auckland Town Hall. “New Zealand is good at ensuring that its own works like these keep the culture alive and thriving.”

Leonard Weiss on the APO podium

Photo credit: Adrian Malloch

This article appeared in the NZ Listener in the issue for 14 May, 2022