The Conducting of Instrumental and Choral Ensembles and the Nigerian Audience

The conducting profession had through the years been an exclusive right of a gifted and sensitive musician, capable of dealing authoritatively with professionals in their own field while possessing the right attitude to understand the need of his audience. This paper titled “The conducting of instrumental and choral ensembles and the Nigerian Audience” examines the historical development of conducting from early times through to the 20th Century. It further sees the conductor as more than a mere time beater but as one who is always faced with an increasing complexity of musical scores especially of the orchestral in addition to a high standard of performance always demanded by a critical audience. He must possess the ability to detect, diagnose and remedy a musical fault almost in a flash. Finally, the paper x-rays the contributions of the Muson Centre Lagos, some churches and private choral groups in Nigeria.