THEIR LIFE'S WORK
Connecting People Through Music
Like an orchestra, Evan Meccarello鈥檚 roles are greater than the sum of their parts.
by Sofia Tokar
To Evan Meccarello 鈥12, his career as a freelance professional musician resembles an orchestra. That is, both are greater than the sum of their parts.
To be sure, Meccarello plays many parts. Among them is music director 鈥 most recently of the Binghamton Community Orchestra 鈥 and conductor of various professional, collegiate, youth, and community ensembles in Upstate New York and around the Northeastern United States, including at Nazareth College. He鈥檚 also known as a radio host, performer, educator, and classical music advocate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for me to create music and to connect with others through music,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hen people play in or listen to orchestras, I think it鈥檚 because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. With their size, complexity, and beauty, orchestras are one of the ultimate expressions of that desire.鈥
Meccarello鈥檚 desire to be part of something greater than himself took the form of conducting. One of his first conducting experiences took place during high school in the youth orchestra program at the Hochstein School of Music, when he led the orchestra in performing a piece by Nancy Strelau, associate professor of professional practice at Nazareth鈥檚 School of Music. He cites Strelau as 鈥渁n incredible influence who was formative for my view of when classical music is made and who writes it.鈥
Strelau鈥檚 influence continued when Meccarello enrolled at Nazareth as a violin performance major. While studying at the College, he apprenticed with Strelau to develop his conducting acumen. 鈥淏y the end of high school, I knew that I wanted to play in a professional orchestra,鈥 he recalls. 鈥淏ut what I learned at Nazareth was that I really wanted to conduct the orchestra.鈥
Now, as a music director based in Rochester, New York, Meccarello chooses the music for his orchestras鈥 seasons. 鈥淣inety percent of the work happens before the first rehearsal,鈥 he says. In addition to administrative responsibilities, this work includes selecting, studying, and mastering the arrangements and compositions to be performed.
That process is both immersive and solitary. But, Meccarello says, 鈥渢hen you have to stand in front of large groups of people 鈥 musicians and audiences 鈥 and genuinely connect with them. It鈥檚 two extreme social modes in one professional role.鈥
He believes in classical music鈥檚 capacity to bridge other extremes, such as the past and the present. 鈥淐lassical music should not be about gatekeeping; it鈥檚 about taking a historical tradition and moving it forward,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hat makes it great are the opportunities to bring together new and different instruments, genres, and people.鈥
Of course, bringing together people has been a challenge amid the coronavirus pandemic. Undeterred, Meccarello has explored ways for his students and colleagues to practice and perform using YouTube, Zoom, and other online tools. (鈥淲ith its partial lag and asynchronicity, Zoom is like its own instrument, one you have to learn to play and write for,鈥 he says.) He鈥檚 also excited by the prospect of partnering with schools and nursing homes to give more people access to orchestral music.
Meanwhile, as conductor for the Irondequoit Community Orchestra near Rochester, New York, Meccarello arranged for outdoor rehearsals during the summer months 鈥 complete with masks and physical distancing. Despite the occasional challenge, such as the sun setting in players鈥 eyes or trying to communicate nonverbally with a mask-covered face, he says, 鈥渢he experience has underscored the value of being together through music.鈥
Sofia Tokar is a writer in Rochester, N.Y.