Life is music and music is life to distinguished queer Black musician Cailin Marcel Manson.
At forty-two, this world-traveled maestro has also emphasized that: “To be a successful conductor, you should be a student of culture.” It’s a lesson he teaches his students, whether at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, or during the summers he spends teaching in Italy, where he became especially fond of the Adriatic coast. “It’s where the Italians vacation,” he says, and where he particularly enjoys the ambience of the smaller towns like Milano Marittima or cities like Rimini for their cozy Mediterranean fascino.
Above all the geographical spots that concerts all around the world have taken him, he sings the praises of Istanbul as a city most dear to his heart. He has recently gone through a genial separation after a nine-year marriage, but in 2022 he traveled alone to Turkey when his husband’s work kept him at home. “I’m a city boy and I like cities,” meaning the hustle, bustle, and hubbub. Which is why he chose to stay at an AirBnb, “gorgeous, and not far from the Galata Tower” which also had a distant view of the famous Hagia Sophia. A short, but steep walk uphill, or a tram, took the crowd-loving traveler to Istiklal Caddesi, close to Taksim Square, that is full of colorful shops, delicious food, and swarming crowds.
A joyful food memory was at Limonlu Bahçe, famous for its canopy of lemon trees. While their citrus-y scent permeates the air, nets protect diners from falling fruit, and the prices protect the travelers’ budgets. This hard to find café can’t be seen from the street and is popular with the locals; it’s especially fragrant during the month of July.
Istanbul (half in Europe and half in Asia) is particularly famous for its street cats. Feline aficionados take note: in the Asian sector, Kadıköy in particular is known for its cat culture, with locals feeding and caring for them. There are special cat houses, and even cat-friendly cafés and bookstores.
Located in Karaköy on the European side, and recommended by Manson, is Arada Endülüs near the Galataport. Multiple nights a week the scene is joyous, with live music, dancing, frivolity, and “packed with many locals.” The food features traditional Lebanese dishes such as hummus, muham mara, kebabs, and fresh seafood.
For a more elegant, high-end dining experience the maestro mentioned Firuzende. This rooftop restaurant has spectacular views on both sides, with the Galata Tower and the Bosphorus on one side, and the beautiful Golden Horn on the other.
Conducting Verdi’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall with MidAmerica Productions in March 2023 (Photo by Mike Violago Photography)
Manson’s performances as singer or conductor have brought him to the world’s famous churches and cathedrals in cities throughout Europe. His baritone, with an almost tenor-like upper range (it varies depending on the piece) has been heard in Paris, Venice, Leipzig, Rome, and other destinations. He has performed at many of the greatest concert halls in Europe and Asia and recently made his conducting debut in Carnegie Hall in New York City, leading Verdi’s Requiem in March 2023. He was only the second Black conductor in history to conduct that piece at Carnegie Hall; the first was fifty years ago.
Aside from these notable accomplishments, he is also known for his hot sartorial choices. He tends to dress with both historic and modern flair, often adding brooches to make striking personal fashion statements, on stage and off.
While it looks as if travel must be the best part of Manson’s profession, he claims there are further benefits of being in such a dynamic career. He is himself always a student of the world, meeting new people, constantly challenged with fresh purpose and evolving cultures. There is always an intellectual component. What you see is not necessarily all you get; beyond the waving of a baton there is inevitably deeper meaning. Manson’s decisions about repertoire consider variety, pace, themes, and often an inclusion of minority artists
At the Hotel Mercure Porte de Pantin in Paris (Photo by Cailin Marcel Manson)
As far as advice to someone wanting a career as a conductor, he says, “Start your own ensemble in order to work out your ideas.” By “ideas” he explains that the function of a conductor is not simply to wave your arms, but to facilitate “stories.” “Whose stories are we telling?” A concert season is a series of journeys, of challenges, “it’s like a progressive dinner with many courses.”
“The days of Toscanini are over,” he adds. In days gone by, the conductor was an autocrat, the [unequivocal] boss.” No longer. “We encourage the moments, track the nuances during rehearsals, and communicate in gestures. There must be a dialogue, a rapport, a synergy.”
There can be disagreements among the players: interpersonal discord. “There are sometimes fifty or sixty members in an orchestra, maybe more.” They’re people after all, with moods and different personalities.
The toughest part of being a conductor is the work done alone. “The practice is grueling.” Most of the work of a concert is actually done before the performance. “We are sometimes booked eighteen months ahead—or a week ahead.” There can be pressure.
When did he make the decision to become a conductor? When did music come seriously into his life? He grew up in Philadelphia and was raised in a Lutheran Church, where he sang in the choir. He composed music in high school and, after graduating from Temple University, studied in Salzburg, Austria, where he majored in both opera performance and orchestral conducting. The gigs soon followed.
His parents, who weren’t married (to each other), were both educated to the graduate level and were highly accomplished. Cailin is the youngest of his mother’s four boys, and he has three more older siblings from his father.
Any issues with coming out? the maestro laughed. “Our weekly bible study group was hosted by a lesbian theologian,” so no problem with his mother, but he was a bit worried about coming out to his father’s side of the family. As it turned out “it was nothing, an anti-climactic event.”
This globe-circling conductor, born with impressive talent into an accepting family, may have the blessings of the ghosts of both the great straight and gay music legends (Tchaikovsky, Menotti, Copland, Britten, Saint-Saëns, et al) as well as the insight to always appreciate the benefits of being a student of culture.
