Finding new affirmation in music

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/04/2020 (2022 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you happened to be at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in February for the Scandinavian Greats performance, you would have seen Australian-born guest conductor Jessica Cottis dance like a fairy as she guided the orchestra through compositions by Edvard Grieg, Max Bruch, and Kent Nagano, among others. 

I had never seen a woman conduct an orchestra and decided I would like to talk with her about what it’s like for her to be a conductor. She kindly agreed to an interview from her home in London. 

Cottis did not start out in the music world as a conductor, but rather as an organist. After completing her organ studies in Paris with Marie-Claire Alain, she had a successful career as an organist but carpal tunnel syndrome abruptly ended that dream. Even with all the treatment, she did not regain her strength, so had to discontinue playing the organ. Not knowing what to do next, she decided to study law, but after a year realized, “I am a musician, so I had to continue with music somehow.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I had always been interested in conducting but I had never done any, so I thought I would give it a go. I applied to the Royal Academy of Music in London to study with Colin Davis and I got in, much to my surprise,” Cottis said.

Even though she did not know much about the physicality of conducting, she knew what she wanted. 

“I had a vision for the music.”

That was 10 years ago and since then Cottis has attracted worldwide recognition for her conducting prowess and enthusiasm. 

What is it like for her to be a woman conductor?

“There aren’t that many female conductors and there is a parallel. There aren’t that many CEOs or similar kind of leadership roles, but I think the world is changing.,” she said.

“Where this balance inequity is being addressed in speaking and thinking about our subconscious biases as a society is great in all areas, not just for women but for any groups for whatever reason have been advertently or inadvertently marginalized.”

As a conductor, Cottis sees her gender as completely irrelevant “because a conductor is basically like a conduit for the music, for the composer and what they have written on the page and also for… my vision for how I think we can bring the music to life. That has really nothing to do with my gender. I never think about it when I am conducting.” 

Although her home base is London, where she works with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Opera House, Cottis travels the world as a freelance conducter. She has conducting contracts in Sweden and Scandinavia and has increasingly accepted invitations in North America, which she really enjoys. A highlight of her work is the privilege of working with wonderful musicians every day of the week. 

“Being able to collaborate with people who are experts in their instruments I find really exciting and a mixture of grounding and life-affirming when it works at its best. I feel there’s the quality when the stars align, when everything aligns, which it really frequently does and that is really life-giving.” 

Helen Lepp Friesen is a community correspondent for Fort Garry. You can contact her at helenfriesen@hotmail.com