The honorific Maestro typically given to an orchestra conductor conjures up images of a stern taskmaster or demanding perfectionist. But in Spanish, the word translates as “teacher.”
To watch Paraguayan-born conductor Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi take to the podium and wield the baton you see he fits more into the teacher role.
Mussi sets high standards for members of the group he leads, the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, but he communicates them with grace and good humor.
“I think we’re playing better now than we’ve ever played before in my experience” says clarinetist Joe Milicia. And his experience is vast since he first joined the orchestra in the 1980s. He also wrote the official history of the Symphony that lays claim to being the oldest continually-operating orchestra in the state.
Mussi’s experience is much more recent, beginning when he took the reins for the 2022-23 season, bringing new energy and enthusiasm to the Symphony. In addition to his conducting, Ernesto is music director, responsible for what he calls the “sonic identity” of the orchestra.
In his role as chief interpreter of the music, Mussi is like the film director starting with a script. It takes work and direction for the transformation from page to performance. He sees this role as making countless decisions that aren’t explicit in the score: “How loud is loud. How short is short.”
And, as in a film, the effort is centered on creating an experience for the audience. “I start to work backward from the audience perspective,” Mussi says. “How am I going to touch the audience?”
“You have to make music in a way that will touch peoples’ souls.”