The View from Backstage

It’s an exciting moment when the quartet walks on stage for any concert audience. It’s also special for the team backstage, and it’s a privilege to be there. We nod to each other, say a quick ‘let’s go’, open the door, the applause begins as the musicians walk out. I always try to take in the view from backstage for a few seconds before closing the door. It’s a swift sequence of events – a noisy burst of energy as people clap their hands, gauging of faces to check what others are feeling as we all prepare to share a special moment in time. Then there’s a hush as everyone settles, takes a breath and prepares for the very first notes to sing out. 

In my role as Concert & Touring Manager for the Australian String Quartet, that backstage moment, in many ways, is when my job is done. Whether it’s in a large music hall, an art gallery or a loungeroom, it’s always a moment to cherish. When those first notes echo, and the performance has started, I know it’s the musicians’ stage and their time to shine. It’s out of my hands now! 

Live performance is very different to visual art. It requires a lot of things to come together in time and space to hear the music. A painting or a drawing is, quite literally, frozen in time. It is presented in a specific, controlled space and lighting so that people can see it clearly, but it’s a very individual relationship between the artist and the viewer. Unlike music, a painting looks the same as when the artist finished the work. Live music written by a composer, sometimes centuries earlier, is very different because the composer’s creation must be brought to life by musicians for an audience to experience. That audience is assembled, ready to listen at a very special and precise moment, which is, to borrow a cooking analogy, when it has just come out of the oven! Not undercooked, not burnt, but at the time when the flavour is best. 

That’s why time and place are crucial elements in live music. The musicians spend a lot of time in the rehearsal room, poring over every note, voicing the chords, working out how to create the drama and movement of the music they’ve chosen. But they usually also try to leave a little bit of room for spontaneity and live energy. Sometimes it’s possible to overprepare the music. During a tour, the musicians work hard to avoid the music becoming too routine. So, how do you time the performance and avoid overcooking the music? This is often where the management team helps to bringing together of all the moving parts: artists, audiences, sound, space and time.

In the 12 months, 6 months, weeks and days before the concert, there are important ingredients to gather. Rehearsal spaces, venues, staging, lighting, chairs, sheet music, catering, ushers, stage technicians, hire cars, hotels and flights, to name but a few. Coordinating it all to ensure everyone is at their best and in the right place at the right time helps achieve the desired “hot out of the oven” flavour. In that long shopping list, it’s also important to keep a margin to allow for the unexpected—a bag to go missing or a flight to be delayed. At the same time, we sometimes hope for something unexpected to happen, like an encounter or a funny or unusual coincidence that adds an extra spark to the performance.

Occasionally,  the unexpected can make a better event.  Sometimes it’s something as small as a bird chirping outside during a bar’s rest, to bring us all together through laughter. After 25 years in arts management, those little surprises often lead to the most memorable performances! 

That’s why that backstage moment at the beginning of a concert is still so special for me—to be there for the first note and ready for the surprise of what might happen today. Knowing that I was part of making that moment come together in time and space, while helping make sure that there’s a little room for magic to happen.

Words by Sophie Emery
Photo by Laura Manariti