When thinking about different teams I've been on and groups that I have been in, one that comes to mind is the chamber music group I was in last year at the International Music Institute and Festival. The group consisted of me, one other violinist, a cellist, and a pianist. We were given a piece of music that we had to learn and rehearse together over the two-week period, and perform it together in the closing recital.
While the end result was alright, we had a bit of a rough start. There were a lot of strong personalities and conflicting schedules in our group, and it made it difficult to decide who was going to make the decisions and when to schedule rehearsal time. And, when we actually did have a rehearsal, it was deciding what part of the piece we were going to practice and for how long. The first few rehearsals were highly unproductive, and I had more than a few times when I was really unsure if we were going to be in the recital or not.
But, it all eventually worked out. One of the ways we did that was realizing that if each one of us didn't yield at least a little bit of the time, nothing was going to get accomplished. We took time to listen to and consider each person's viewpoints, and try to compromise as much as possible. Also, we got in touch in between rehearsals to clarify what exactly was going to get practiced so that when we did get together, we could get right to work. The final result was not perfect, but it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be! I think that that experience has helped me realize that, in order to be a part of a successful collaborative project, it is really important to realize that there is really no "I" in "team," and that clear and respectful communication from day one will produce the best result.
