On the Go with Assistant Conductor Jayce Ogren
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The month of May is one that won't soon (if ever) be forgotten by Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Jayce Ogren. His first scheduled subscription concerts as conductor were last week, and this week is his final concert as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

The young musicians will play their first-ever Saturday evening concert on May 16, (broadcast live as it happens on WCLV-FM and WCLV.com) and the conductor is also the composer of one of the featured works. It's not his first piece, but it is the first for him here in Cleveland. (One previous music director of COYO, Stephen Smith, also composed a piece for the group.) Jayce's work is titled Not only the fire... and was inspired by a Pablo Neruda poem from his Captain's Verses.

“It’s about love,” Jayce responds when asked about the piece. It’s a combination of his view of love, and life experiences that parallel his ideas. It’s a ten-minute piece for full orchestra, his first for that configuration, although he has had commissions for chamber, choral and wind ensemble. Still, it’s been five years since his last piece. “It’s so difficult to balance composing and conducting. It was difficult not to have the composer in me alive and active. I knew it, but didn’t acknowledge it at the time. It’s very difficult to balance one’s life. I expected it to take a ton of time to write this piece, but it took even more.” He pauses, then smiles wistfully. “It was fun writing for my orchestra. They know me; my quirks and personality.”

Actually, the world premiere—well, world preview perhaps—took place two days ago in Westlake. The orchestra played a ‘runout’ there. A tune-up, sort of. “Runout concerts can be a bit rough around the edges sometimes,” Jayce says with a grin, “but it’s truly important to take the group to new parts of the community. Plus, it’s a great experience for the kids to get to play the program twice. It’s like a super dress rehearsal.” February’s concert had a runout to Mentor.

And now that Jayce is leaving Cleveland after three years, what next? To begin, he’ll head-quarter himself in Berlin, and will be a busy ‘guest conductor’ for various organizations and venues. He’s represented by IMG in London, where his manager is Dorothy Currie. She’s been helpful in opening doors to him in Europe, even including attending rehearsals of various organizations in different venues. Conductors especially need to know about acoustics in all these halls where they’re liable to be performing at some point in the future.

Although he knows little German at the moment, he is starting to learn it on his own, but once there, he intends to immerse himself in it. He’s looking forward to spending time with some of the ‘other great orchestras in the world’. “Berlin as a city is still re-defining itself,” he says. “It has a new vitality, and looks to be a fascinating place in which to be situated. And, you know,” he continues, “Nearly every city in Germany has an orchestra and an opera house. The Music Director for these organizations is actually the Music Director of the City, and conducts it all. Isn’t that a neat title?” Indeed. Just imagine if that were the norm in this country!

First up, during October and early November of this year, he’ll be in Toronto for the Canadian Opera (studying and covering) as the company performs various pieces by Stravinsky, including Le Rossignol and Reynard. After watching and listening, he’ll actually conduct the Nov. 5 performance.

Then, later in November, he’ll conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra (in London) in a program of American music: Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland and Three Places in New England of Charles Ives. The second half of the concert features jazz guitarist Bill Frizzell in his music with orchestra.

February 10, he’ll be at the Berlin Philharmonie for a concert with the Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester. Before that, however, he’ll be in Omaha for the 1st week of January, then it’s off to Boston for two weeks, to cover for Sir Colin Davis. Having earned his Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory, he says, “it’ll be good to be back there again."

A native of Hoquiam, Washington, (right on the ocean) Jayce earned a bachelor’s degree in composition from St. Olaf College in 2001 and a master’s degree in conducting from the New England Conservatory in 2003. He then studied for three years in Sweden, before returning to this country.

Jayce's first musical experiences came through playing French horn in his high school band. As many such students do, he began to think of perhaps someday becoming a high school band instructor. Next came the notion of maybe moving up a notch to college level band director. But then at the age of fifteen, prompted by concerts of the Seattle Symphony, he raised his sights even higher, and went off to St. Olaf College. It wasn’t long before he found his real calling—that of orchestra conductor and composer. Until he came to Cleveland, he did keep up with the horn, though. For the two summers prior to beginning his tenure here, he was a participant at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, where aspiring conductors are also required to play in the orchestra when they’re not wielding the baton.

This is but one reason Jayce was pleased to have been asked to conduct last week’s subscription concerts, with principal horn Richard King as soloist. “I love his playing,” Jayce adds, “so I was thrilled by the suggestion of working with Rich. And then to be doing the first Cleveland Orchestra Severance Hall concerts ever of works by Mozart and Haydn!” Add to that one of Jayce’s own personal favorites from the symphonic repertoire (Symphony No. 7 by Jean Sibelius- more on that later) plus the Hindemith work, and he’s close to Nirvana (the state of mind, not the rock bands.)

During his time in Scandinavia, Jayce studied conducting with Jorma Panula, who was the teacher of many of today’s conductors, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänska, and Sakari Oramo, (all of whom have conducted here) among others. In addition to learning the music, Jayce says “It helped me understand the Finnish psyche – which can be puzzling at times. You just have to dig deeper….”

“Sibelius absolutely grabs me at my core in a way no other music does, especially his late works. There are moments in this piece that really almost do me in. They bring me to tears. But I think that emotional attachment enhances what I do. Sibelius’ music expresses the way he saw the world. To him, humanity, nature, and the spiritual are all combined in such an organic way.” He pauses and shakes his head. “Sibelius is so much more than just the Finnish lakes and mountains and . . . it’s very hard to put into words.”

Besides the music, Jayce will miss a number of things about Cleveland that he’s come to greatly appreciate. “There are things here that are not like anyplace else. The West Side Market; hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which reminds me a bit of being near the ocean in Olympic National Park.” But most of all, it’s the people of Cleveland that he’ll really miss. “There is such a sense of community here, they make you feel really supported. Not just as a part of the Orchestra, but the larger community as well. In a smaller city, the focus on people is its greatest resource.” A big smile breaks across his face. “And there are really great restaurants: Nighttown, L'Albatross Brasserie, the Grovewood Tavern.”

When he’s not making music of one form or another, Jayce likes to cook and hike and ski. He also runs every morning. His non-orchestral musical tastes run toward pop artists who write their own songs, such as Ani DiFranco.

Musical highlights include his first COYO concert in the fall of 2006. “It was my first as Music Director of my own orchestra.” Having taken the young musicians on a weekend retreat to become acquainted, they succeeded so well, the young conductor was able to leave the stage and the musicians played one selection all on their own. It was an eye-opener for everyone involved.

“And then, last season, there was a Cleveland Orchestra runout to Oberlin that had no rehearsal beforehand, although it was a repeat of the prior week’s concert, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. It was electric! The program was the Mozart Symphony No. 34 and Brahms’ First. Of course, the orchestra knows this music so well, it really wasn’t at all scary. It was a joy!” And once again, that boyish grin enlivens his face.

This week’s Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra concert on Saturday evening consists of three devilishly difficult pieces for any orchestra, let alone one comprised of teenagers. Don Juan by Richard Strauss, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and a real-ear and eye-opener, the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with concertmaster (and concerto competition winner) Emily Nebel as soloist. “She’s a tremendous talent, and has been working on this piece for months. It’s tricky for her and the orchestra.” And then, of course, there’s the official World Premiere of the conductor’s composition.

Not to worry. They’re all in good hands. The very competent conducting hands of Jayce Ogren.

For tickets or other information, call 231-1111 or visit the website http://www.ClevelandOrchestra.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATroadrunner.com
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