Typical Day
Maestro Bellanote rolls out of bed at 8:00AM, throws on some workout clothes, and goes for his morning jog. He's trying to make the jog more of a routine thing, and has noticed that his stamina has been increasing—which is a good thing, considering he has to get through a busy day and a performance tonight. When he returns, he showers and eats a healthy, protein-rich breakfast—eggs, turkey, and veggies. Exercise and a good diet are key to his success, as his lifestyle is an active one.
He changes into some comfortable clothes and heads to work in his Porsche. He turns on NPR's Searching for the Great American Symphony before switching to "Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries"—it's the tune he always listens to before he starts his workday.
At 10:00AM, he arrives at the symphony hall ready to rehearse. Unfortunately, one of the oboe players is late. He's not too happy with the player when he shows up, and Maestro glares at the late oboe, but doesn't say anything. They're performing tonight, and it's bad luck to get upset on a performance day. But tomorrow? He'll definitely be having a chat with the late oboe player tomorrow.
For the next five hours, Maestro pulls an amazing performance out of the orchestra, as they rehearse Beethoven's 5th Symphony. It's powerful, subtle, and original. Hopefully they didn't waste their best take during rehearsal and will be able to repeat the remarkable performance at the actual show later that evening.
At 3:00PM, Maestro excuses everyone and tells them that they have a three-hour break. He reminds them that they need to be back by 6:00PM in formal dress for the concert's call time. He repeats himself a couple times, stressing the importance of punctuality while glancing at the late oboe player from the morning.
Maestro retreats into his office and checks his email. He spends some time considering a few different musical pieces that he is thinking of adding to the summer series for the orchestra, and takes a call from a famous violinist he is hoping to woo over to do the Saint Saëns concerto in the fall. He's unable to get a firm commitment from the violinist, but they make plans to have dinner together the next time Maestro's in New York.
Maestro spends some more time going over the score for tonight's performance. He adds a few finishing touches, while nibbling on an order of lo mein—it's his routine meal on performance night.
His assistant shows up after his break to make Maestro's mate, his favorite pre-concert drink.
While Maestro sips his mate, the assistant transcribes some of Maestro's notes onto future scores for his next performance. Maestro is mentoring his assistant, and is grooming him to one day be able to lead his own orchestra.
In some ways Maestro feels like a parent to his assistant—as he does to all of the musicians under his wing. He is responsible for their well-beings and must be attuned to each and every one of their needs in order to have the orchestra be a cohesive unit that performs at its best.
As the performance nears, Maestro changes into his formal tails, dress shirt, and bow-tie. He grabs a new baton from the box on top of his bookshelf and heads to the stage.
At 6:00PM on the dot, Maestro and the orchestra take to the stage to tune up their instruments. Before they know it, it's 7:00PM and the crowd starts to arrive.
A few minutes after the 7:30PM start time, Maestro and the orchestra retake the stage for their performance to thunderous applause from the crowd.
For the next three and a half hours, Maestro delivers an exquisite performance. He treats every performance as if it were his last, and believes he owes it to the crowd to give 110 percent. This is what he lives for, and he wants to make it perfect.
At 11:00PM, the Maestro takes his final bows to the appreciative crowd. Although he's lead countless performances, receiving standing ovations never gets old.
He's exhausted, elated, relieved, and also a little sad that the performance is over. It's hard to step back into the real world after living and breathing music like that for three hours.
After Maestro has thanked each and every one of his musicians and crew-members, and congratulated them on a terrific performance, he feels the exhaustion taking over his body like a ton of bricks. His arms are sore and heavy from having to work so hard for so long.
Maestro fights to stay awake as he drives home, listening to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto in the car.
Once he gets home, he immediately gets undressed and crawls into bed. It's not long before he falls into a deep, restful sleep, accompanied by some Chopin on his bedside radio.