Rocking out at the opera

Tchaikovsky’s “Polonaise” may not be in the Top 25 Most Played on James Carlson’s iPod, but learning to conduct it is his top priority.

“It is really the other end of the spectrum for me,” said Carlson, a UNC alumnus and guitarist for the local band Modena.

“I’m more of an alternative rock musician, and I grew up on listening to Nirvana.”

Modena is preparing to record a new album in August with Jim Wirt, a producer for artists such as Incubus and Hoobastank.

Before then, Carlson will help lead the North Carolina Opera’s June 12 program “Opera About Town: Opera, Broadway, and Zarzuela,” at the N.C. Museum of Art.

The chance to conduct came as a live auction prize in a February opera fundraiser.

“It’s a unique opportunity for anyone who has the guts and the potential talent to lead a full orchestra and enjoy a few minutes of fame,” said Walton Ferrell, communications manager for the North Carolina Opera.

Carlson has put that potential talent to work. He’s been playing music for more than half his life.

He started young, picking up the trumpet in 2nd grade as a member of his elementary school band program in New York. He switched to tuba in 7th grade but remained intrigued by the guitar.

“I’d see pictures of my mom playing,” Carlson said. “I was always curious. Her guitar was always sitting around and I wanted to pick it up, but I didn’t know how to do anything with it.”

In his first year of high school, though, he finally started to learn basics from his mom.

“She has always supported me, and I’m grateful for that.”

And it was his mother — a board member of the North Carolina Opera — who placed the winning bid for the conducting gig.

In early May, Carlson got what he deems a “crash course” in conducting from the opera’s artistic director, world-renowned conductor Timothy Myers.

Myers is currently touring in Beijing but will return to the state Monday to prepare to conduct the rest of the opera program.

“James is already a good musician, which is the most important part of being a good conductor,” he said. “He and I have simply been working on the mechanics of how to express the music inside him to the musicians.”

While Carlson already knows how to read music, conducting the 40-member orchestra in the opera will prove more demanding.

“When you look at the score, it has every instrument laid out for you, so you have to keep up with it,” he said.

Page turns are as critical to a conductor as they are to musicians, but conductors must also determine when to make cues and how to bring the instrumentation together.

He said his work with conducting has made him look at music on a much larger scale, going from his five-member band to full orchestra with roughly 25 distinct parts.

“It’s cool to get to work with other musicians that see it from a totally different perspective,” he said.

Carlson, who has never performed for a crowd as big as the opera’s, said Myers offered him some wisdom.

“He said the great thing about being a conductor is that you don’t have to face the audience,” Carlson recalled with a laugh.

Myers expressed his special affection for opera in its ability to unite many distinct art forms such as voice, orchestra, literature and theater.

“All of these combine to communicate something very special to the audience in a unique moment that will only be seen and heard once.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts.dth@gmail.com.