With a plastic baton — no thicker than a pencil — he waves his arms and hands as he effortlessly leads musicians on a beautiful, powerful journey of song.

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz will lead the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra to accompany Natalie Merchant Saturday, July 8, at The Amphitheater.

Merchant is performing in support of her new release “Keep Your Courage.”

Chafetz said more acts are using an orchestra during live performances.

The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Led by Conductor Stuart Chafetz perform during an Independence Day Celebration on July 4, 2022 in the Amphitheater. Submitted photo

“It’s common now. With (The Chautauqua Symphony) Orchestra Pops, we are pretty much used to having headlining acts,” Chafetz said.

Merchant told The Associated Press in April that she went through a health emergency in 2020 where she had major spine surgery just four days before lockdown, with three bones removed from her neck and an incision made over her vocal cords. She lost her voice and suffered nerve damage in her right hand. It took nine months to get her voice back and a year to get her hand to work again. The AP said that the result of that was not anger, but love, and her new release “Keep Your Courage.”

“This album sort of grew out of all that. It was a health crisis, but also everything was in crisis in the world. We all turned inward and held on to each other. And the only thing that really mattered was love. Love and caring for people. It wasn’t until I wrote the liner notes that I realized how connected all the songs were. This is kind of a de facto concept record,” Merchant told the AP.

It takes some synchronization to get all musicians on the same page.

“Yeah, it’s wonderful. What’s great about it is that the Chautauqua Symphony is a diverse group of players where they go from Beethoven one day to Natalie Merchant the next day,” Chafetz added.

Chafetz said in preparation for a concert like this one, musicians will receive their musical parts probably two weeks before the concert. That period gives the musicians time to practice their parts individually before coming together with the rest of the orchestra to rehearse as a whole.

The CSO and Merchant will have one rehearsal before the concert.

Chafetz said the key to getting the musicians to perform together on stage is knowing how the musicians interact with one another and him.

“So the beautiful thing about the Chautauqua Symphony is having played timpani for 25 years with the symphony, I know everybody intimately, in the sense that I know where the orchestra is. They (the musicians) can play anything. And I just try and stay out of the way. I say that, because their ears are so good because they do three different programs a week. They’re so attuned to adjusting to various composers, various conductors, and various artists. It’s interesting because it’s usually when you run through it (the music) the first time, you get a sense of OK, and usually you don’t have to run it again.”

He said if issues arise, communication with each section is vital.

“If there’s an issue, I’ll always say, ‘Hey, trumpets, are we good there?’ And if they nod their head (yes), I’m like, OK, let’s move on,” Chafetz said.

According to Chautauqua’s website, chq.org, Chafetz is the first principal pops conductor of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Chafetz, the CSO’s longtime principal timpanist, has served for more than a decade in a guest pops conductor capacity for the ensemble. Chafetz also serves as principal pops conductor of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and is the principal pops conductor of the Marin Symphony. A conductor celebrated for his dynamic and engaging podium presence, Chafetz is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent.

CHQ.org also stated that Merchant earned a reputation for being a songwriter of quality and a captivating stage performer and has distinguished herself as a social justice and environmental activist. Merchant began her career as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the pop music band 10,000 Maniacs and released one platinum, two double-platinum, and one triple-platinum records with the group: “The Wishing Chair” (1985), “In My Tribe” (1987), “Blind Man’s Zoo” (1989), “Hope Chest” (1990), “Our Time in Eden” (1992), and “10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged” (1993). Merchant left the group in 1994 and has subsequently released nine albums as a solo artist: “Tigerlily” (1995), “Ophelia” (1998), “Natalie Merchant Live” (1999), “Motherland” (2001), “The House Carpenter’s Daughter” (2003), “Leave Your Sleep” (2010), “Natalie Merchant” (2014), “Paradise Is There” (2015), and “Butterfly” (2017).

For more information about tickets, visit chq.org.