LEADERSHIP CORNER
Young musicians shouldn't rule out college, conductor says
Interviewed by David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Advertiser library photo • March 19, 1998 |
Age: 42
Title: Principal Pops Conductor
Organization: Honolulu Symphony Orchestra
High School: Grant, Van Nuys, Calif.
College: None
Breakthrough job: Jimmy Borges asking Catingub to conduct with the Honolulu Symphony in 1995
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Q. Tell me about your connection to Hawai'i.
A. I'm Samoan and Filipino but born and raised in California. I knew when I was very young that I wanted to live here. When the offer for this job came, I jumped at it. My wife and I got married on the Big Island. I was tired of L.A., not just the city but the music business. It's very political. It has nothing to do with whether you are good at the job or not; it's who you know.
I just love Hawai'i. My mom (jazz vocalist Mavis Rivers) passed away in 1992, and her last wish was to have her ashes scattered in La'ie, which is where most of my family grew up. I have a real spiritual connection here. It's not just the symphony.
Q. Do you regret not going to college?
A. I personally do not regret it, only because what I do never has been taught to me. It was trial and error.
Q. What would you say to young musicians who look to you and say, "I don't need to go to college?"
A. No, I wouldn't say don't go to college. It's a gamble. ... Take somebody like James Taylor and look at his band. He pays extremely well, and he's just a really nice guy. But take the bass player; there are probably thousands of bass players who could play that job. The reason the bass player got it is because he knew this person. It's all a gamble and talent has nothing to do with it.
I have too many talented friends who have climbed the ladder and then just fell. And they are some of the most talented musicians who just deserve so much but will likely never achieve that. You've got to be willing to fail.
Q. Does it boil down to connections?
A. Listen, how did I get this job? I didn't train for it. I didn't run for it. It just happened because I knew (classic-pop and jazz vocalist) Jimmy Borges (who performed with Catingub's mother). Jimmy called me and said, "I think you'll do a good job here."
And I won't deny this, being Samoan/Filipino and local-looking probably didn't hurt. That has hurt me in the past.
I remember wanting so bad — this is many years ago — to be in the Disneyland band. I'm a real big Disney freak. I was substituting for a friend. I played bass drum and piano in the band. The actual job opened up, and I wasn't even considered. Why? Because I don't think turn-of-the-century America had many Samoan/Filipinos in their marching band, and that's Disney. It worked against me there. So I might as well let it work for me here. Let's call it what it is.
Q. How is the Honolulu Symphony doing financially?
A. Compared to many orchestras we are doing very well. We are OK. I do believe we are slightly in the red. But I'm not the one to ask about that. I'll go to an occasional board meeting and hear (Bank of Hawaii CEO) Mike O'Neill, who is our treasurer, put a little red on the walls.
Compared to three or four years ago, we are doing great. Before (executive director) Steve Bloom came on board, he took over the ship with a lot of holes in it.
Q. Is the pops a money-making venture for the symphony?
A. I think not many things in the symphony are money-making. Ticket sales count for something like a third of our operating (funds). We depend on the generosity of the community and the sponsors.
Per concert more seats are filled (at pops versus classical), but it also costs more to put on a pops concert. You've got to fly all these people in and their band and their manager and their sound people. We have to rent extra equipment. Once you factor in all the operating, it may be closer to even.
Q. How do you motivate a group of talented musicians?
A. The normal path that a musician who plays in a symphony orchestra takes is one of very strict ... learning. I respect each and every one of them. What they do, I could never do. I come in from a totally different perspective, having grown up in the clubs and concert stages. I come from the point of view that it's fun.
When I come to a rehearsal, my attitude is, "Let's have a good time." Unfortunately many symphony orchestras have taken a lot of the fun out of it. There is a drill master here and here are all the privates. It is very strict and very tense.
Q. Does that mean you tolerate more errors?
A. A classical performance depends on perfection, or at least strives for perfection. A little mistake is frowned upon. When I come out there and somebody cracks a note, somebody misses a phrase, I just look at them and laugh. Our music that we do with pops is not about perfection. It's about having a good time and putting on a show and letting the people in the audience see that all the walls are down, and we're just having a good time.
In a rehearsal, if somebody misses a note, it is easy for me to look at them and the guy goes, "I got it." And I just say, "Fine." They've perfected their instruments. Some goofball who used to play with the Captain & Tennille is not going to tell them what to do with their instruments.
I always say, "Everybody knows the mistakes they made, right? Good. Turn it over." I prefer the pressure of performance. I don't want to perfect it at rehearsal and then everybody relaxes when they get to the performance and they make mistakes. They get to the performance and they say, "Oh, yeah, in rehearsal I missed this section, so when I get to that section, I'm going to nail that section." And they do.
Q. What is the importance of a solo bow taken by the conductor versus a group bow or singling out musicians for a bow?
A. That's a really important thing in the MasterWorks side. There is protocol involved, which I don't even claim to know. As a general rule, I want to make sure the orchestra gets acknowledged. If we are at the end of the concert and we're with Michael McDonald (of the Doobie Brothers), and he says, "Thanks." I always will say, "May I bring the orchestra up." It's important to get their due.
I'm always aware of who hasn't gotten the spotlight. So if there is an orchestra-only piece, I'll make sure I throw something the bassoonists' way or to the French horn (if they weren't featured earlier).
Q. What other projects do you have going on now?
A. I record for a jazz label called Concord Records. That's what Rosemary Clooney was on. The Big Kahuna, the big band, that is essentially done. We did well with that. We got nominated for a Grammy with Rosemary Clooney. As always happens in the music business, things change and the swing thing is dead and so we've respectively put the band to sleep. I have some tricks up my sleeve. I'm recording this summer to release a CD, hopefully by the end of the year or the beginning of next year.
