Conducting her destiny

It's a Wednesday morning, and school buses have disgorged a couple-thousand kids into Benaroya Hall for a "Meet the Beat" Seattle Symphony concert. The hall is hopping with peppy youngsters; a posse of preteen boys roars down the lobby into the men's room, shouting "Wow! Check it out!" With kids pouring into the concert hall, the place is an anthill of constant motion.

Entertaining, enlightening and keeping the attention of this feisty group is the job of the Seattle Symphony's brand-new assistant conductor, Carolyn Kuan. This is no easy task. The orchestra's program is full of stops and starts, short pieces, musical illustrations from orchestra members, a concerto movement featuring a very young and inexperienced soloist, and tricky repertoire (including a staged performance of Stravinsky's "A Soldier's Tale," with actors from the Seattle Children's Theatre). Kuan not only has to conduct; she has to introduce all the pieces in a way that relates to the kids without talking down to them.

Out she comes from the wings, in a conductor's long black coat, gripping a baton and accompanied by a tiny little princess in a white spangled gown and bearing a violin. Kuan introduces the 10-year-old soloist, Simone Porter, who gives a bold and technically assured performance of the finale of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto — the conductor is just as self-assured. Whether she is asking Simone about her music-loving dog, Olivia, or talking about the family of string instruments as if they were varieties of chocolate, Kuan keeps the attention of the audience. She also keeps the attention of the orchestra musicians, who turn in thoughtful, focused performances of works by Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn.

Listening to Kuan's speech, you hear the faint trace of an accent that tells you she was not born in this country, but in Taiwan. What you don't know is that this 29-year-old, who is not only the Seattle Symphony's first woman assistant conductor but also the first Asian-American one, is a rebel: a strong-minded person who left her family behind at 14 to move to America, speaking only a few words of English in order to give free rein to her most marked trait — curiosity.

After the performance, over coffee and tea, Kuan shrugs off her pair of Seattle Symphony firsts.

"When I'm doing a good job," she says, "everyone should forget if I'm a woman, Asian, tall, skinny, whatever. If I have spent a lot of time on the music and on my interpretation, and I can translate that to the musicians, they and the audience can both feel it. There is a special energy when that happens. And it's not about a perfect performance: it's about an engaging one."

Leaping into unknown

Starting out on the piano at 5, Kuan quickly took up the violin, flute, harp, ballet and voice, because "I was a very curious kid and had a lot of interests." As a teenager, however, her rebellious side came to the fore. Her middle school in Taiwan had a study-abroad relationship with an American high school, and Kuan decided to apply, going to high school in America. The acceptance arrived just when she had a fight with her parents.

"They were smart to let me go," she says now. At the time, Kuan must have had a few doubts; she was "out in the middle of nowhere" near Greenfield, Mass., and she spoke so little English that she didn't know what a pillow was when her roommate asked her for one. The first day's biology class brought five hours of homework. Because English was tough, Kuan gravitated toward physics, chemistry and math.

If this doesn't sound like the typical route of a budding musician, it's because Kuan didn't consider herself one.

"I was good at a lot of things," she says matter-of-factly.

"But I didn't really consider a career as a performer, not at all. I have an extremely contradictory personality: I'm a romantic, a philosopher, a scientist. But I found that music was the nearest thing to me."

Kuan graduated from Smith College with degrees in music and economics, and went on to earn a conducting performance diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. At one time, she was enthusiastic enough about computer programming to consider a career in that field. Conducting drew her, however, because "it was the thing I understood the least. I had the most questions about it. The more you learn, the more questions you have about music. In the process of sharing what you learn with people, you see how music moves people and makes life more beautiful."

A role model

Three years ago, Kuan became the first woman to receive the Herbert von Karajan conducting fellowship, awarded by the Herbert von Karajan Centrum and the American Austrian Foundation. Earlier, she came under the wing of Marin Alsop, the most prominent woman conductor today and the music director designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Alsop, who has called Kuan "very, very gifted," has been an important mentor; she invited Kuan to conduct the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (U.K.) in 2004, and Kuan has served as her assistant conductor at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music since 2003. She also has been artist in residence at New York City Ballet and was assistant conductor of the North Carolina Symphony for one season before coming to Seattle this fall.

Kuan calls Alsop "my role model. She is one of the most amazing conductors. She has been helpful personally and professionally. She's a warm person — a good human being."

Does Kuan perceive a glass ceiling for women conductors? Alsop, after all, is the only one to have the top job with a major American orchestra, and also the only woman to be invited to guest-conduct one of Europe's greatest orchestras, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra.

"I never think about it," she says.

"The only time I think about it is when I'm talking to a reporter. I had a lot of options; I decided I had something to offer. If I think about only the music, everything will come along."

Certainly she is getting plenty of experience. Kuan conducted 60 concerts last year for the North Carolina Symphony, taking the orchestra all over the state to gymnasiums, schools and all sorts of facilities. Here in Seattle, she will be kept busy with orchestra assignments, both here and elsewhere; recently she conducted the Symphony in Ellensburg. She calls the Seattle players "amazing musicians. You can tell their dedication in everything they do."

She also has added Gerard Schwarz to her list of mentors.

"He has been very available to me," she explains.

"He spends a lot of time with me talking about music and interpretation. He has been very nurturing. For me, it is great being around him and seeing how much he cares about every single line, sound, detail — you can learn a lot observing a rehearsal."

Because Kuan will be conducting a lot of educational and family concerts, her rapport with youthful audiences is a critical issue. A recent kid herself, Kuan has some strong ideas on this subject. The most important thing, she feels, is that kids have a good time at the concert. If they don't, they won't be back. She uses a little humor to engage young audiences and connect with them. In North Carolina, Kuan used to go into the audience before and after the educational concerts, chatting with them while they waited for the bus about what they liked and didn't like.

"If you come to the table with a tremendous passion for music and your interpretation, audiences will respect that, whether they are adults or children," Kuan says.

"Maybe they will remember what you told them about the music, and maybe not. But the important thing is making a connection with them so they can appreciate great music.

"For me, it's about how I can grow and learn to be a better conductor. I am completely focused on this job. I'm passionate about the music."

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com