‘Sometimes I Feel Like I’m His Dog’

Abstract

In a close analysis of rehearsal processes in the youth choir and two youth orchestras in this study, this chapter describes in detail the gendered interaction between conductor and musicians. The charismatic authoritative leadership of their male conductors was appreciated and enjoyed by the young musicians. The chapter focuses particularly on the interactions that facilitated this charismatic authority. To this end, the construction of conductors’ charisma is analysed in its workings through consensual as well as more coercive practices such as humiliation and fear, and the ways in which these reinforced gendered norms are drawn out. The deference and conformity that are normal within classical music practice can be read politically as trust in the authority and expertise of adult leaders that is continuous with a wider middle-class trust in institutional authority. These social relations are, in part, inscribed in the musical text.