Short documentary by Tarik Halil on Wissam Boustany's journey from flute player to conductor. Wissam talks about his motivations and his 'Method Called Love'.
My Conducting Debut
In April 2015 I gave my third residency at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne, Australia. An intense week of chamber music and masterclasses focusing on the works of Francis Poulenc culminated in a prestigious concert and I was invited to conduct a performance of Poulenc's masterpiece "Aubade", his concerto for piano and 18 instruments which originally conceived as a choreographed work.
Apart from the perceptive, sensitive and energetic playing of the soloist, Laurence Matheson, this also proved to be a profound experience for me and turned out to be my debut as a conductor. After this experience I resolved to develop this fascinating side of music-making, adding a new dimension to my musical journey.
““...Yet more players arrived for the Aubade for piano and 18 instruments, including strings, with Wissam Boustany conducting. The pianist was Laurence Matheson and indeed this felt like a piano concerto, with the sound of a small chamber orchestra. This was so brilliantly executed that it would have been a worthy finish for the evening...”
How it Began
The flute has been my best friend and companion throughout most of my life, since I was twelve. It became the eyes with which I see the wonders of the world and depths of my soul, keeper of my dreams, catalyst of my discipline and sense of my self. It taught me the value and art of Love, and all that it empowers in my life and work.
During my late teens, Emile Nouné (my stepfather, flute teacher and musical mentor at the time) told me something that I would never forget:
"The flute is too small for you...I see you as a conductor one day".
Such was my love for the flute, I laughed and joked at this notion and even bet Emile that this would never happen...but this small sentence imbedded itself somewhere in my insides.
On a whim, while I was studying at the Royal Northern College of Music a few years later, I put together an orchestra at college and performed Mozart's Symphony No 29 and Elgar's Serenade; I wasn't studying conducting at the time, but just thought it would be 'fun' - and with this one experiment, I put conducting to rest until 2015, except for occasionally leading orchestras from the flute, when I was performing with them as a soloist.
See also: inner journeys | the flutist