It's one of the little ironies of the theatrical process that the better a musical performance, the more invisible is the role of the musical director. However, when a musical performance goes seamlessly, and the performances by the musicians and actors alike are technically superb and emotionally resonant, those moments of artistic perfection owe a decided debt not only to the performers, but to the music director, as well.

Musical director Kristen Lee Rosenfeld knows this all too well. I met Kristen in New York City in 2008, through my longtime friend, actress and director Kim Ferse. I was a freelance writer and aspiring playwright living in Queens and she was working on an operatic workshop production still in its early stages. We exchanged the occasional e-mail afterward, connecting on Facebook, and Kristen's heartfelt, funny and moving posts on her life with the Spring Awakening on its first National Tour always made me want to learn more about her work. I was able to talk with Kristen recently about her insights into the life of the music director, as well as on her advice for others working on tour. (Note: read more about Kristen's tips on touring life here.)

Kristen's New York City music direction credits include work with Raw Impressions, the Prospect Theatre Co., the Manhattan Children's Theatre, the Family Opera Initiative and the New York Musical Theatre Festival, as well as readings at the Dramatists Guild and the York.

She served as associate music director for the Off-Broadway production of The Transport Group's Lysistrata Jones. Her regional music direction credits include many mainstage and children's shows for SecondStory Repertory Theatre, the Saxton's River Playhouse, Tibbits Summer Theatre, Cortland Repertory Theatre and the Barn Theatre in Michigan.

Her compositions have been commissioned by SecondStory Repertory, Franklin & Marshall College, Youth Theatre Northwest, the Atlantic School and the Red Fern Theatre Company. Her one-act musical, The Nightingale, premiered at Sprouts! Children's Theatre in January 2005, and her musical version of The Merry Wives of Windsor premiered at Wooden O Theatre in the summer of 2007. She recently collaborated with her mother Luanne Aronen Rosenfeld on a new musical adaptation of the book Holly and Ivy.

I had the chance to catch up with Rosenfeld again recently, about her experiences both during the Spring Awakening tour, as well as in her ongoing life as a composer and music director in New York City.

Angela Mitchell: So Kristen, what's your favorite thing about your job?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: I love creating something new that has never been seen or heard before, and the ability that I have to express ideas and emotions through music and words; whether it is my own work, or my ability to interpret and make clear someone else's work.

Angela Mitchell: Did you always love music?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: For as long as I can remember.

Angela Mitchell: Of course! That was probably a dumb question. What was your schooling and training like?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: I actually wanted to be a dancer when I was very little. I started taking ballet classes when I was five, but I always had a strong interest in music and theatre. I started piano at age seven, and also started performing in plays at school around that same time. I had a wonderful piano teacher who encouraged me as a composer by helping me with notation and allowing me to perform my songs at piano recitals. I then studied classical piano until I was about 16, when I decided I wanted to work in musical theatre. I then had a mentor who was one of the major music directors in Seattle at that time. I followed her around, got her coffee, went to rehearsals with her and observed all the work that she did.

Angela Mitchell: That kind of immersive, supportive early start is so important. It really grounds you for whatever the business throws at you later.

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: To this day, much of what I know about being a music director, I learned from her. She gave me scores to musicals, and I would sit and play through entire scores every day. That was how I learned to sight read and learned a lot of musical theatre repertoire. I have a BA in Music from Franklin & Marshall College, with a minor in Theatre. I did my Master of Music (MMus) in Composition at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Angela Mitchell: If you could advise others on the skills that will come in most handy -- what would you say? How much composition, notation, theory, etc., should they be prepared to do? (Full disclosure: I'm a music theory geek. I absolutely love it, especially from the lyricist point of view, and to this day I'll deconstruct songs by intervals or chord progressions as a relaxation technique. I'm weird.)

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: I think it's always good to know your craft and understand the theory behind what you're doing. Even if you're working with other people who don't know theory well, knowing it will help you to communicate with others about your work. I was taught to write my music exactly on the page as I wish to hear it performed, and this requires a lot of skills in notation and theory.

I think it's important, because if you can't communicate through your sheet music what your music should sound like, no one will be able to perform it unless you are present in the room. If you want your work to be widely performed, it has to be notated neatly and accurately. On the flip side, the more information I have as a music director, the easier my job is and the more likely I will be able to interpret a composer's work correctly.

Angela Mitchell: That makes sense. When did you know you wanted to create music? Do you remember a specific song or moment?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: I wrote my first song when I was nine or ten years old. It was a piece for piano called "Independence." I always created songs and stories, from the time I was very little. I used to make up plays and perform them with my sister. I wrote a version of "The Emperor's New Clothes" entitled "The Emperor's New Petals," and it was performed by my fourth-grade class. I've wanted to create music and theatre for as long as I can remember.

Angela Mitchell: And now you do! You've worked on some great shows -- can you name a few?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld:Spring Awakening is obviously the big one -- I did the first National Tour for almost two years. I also did a fabulous little production at NYMF several years ago called Emma, which had an extremely talented cast and production team. I've worked with a ton of amazing people: Henry Stram, Leah Horowitz, Brian Charles Rooney, Kim Grigsby, Michael Mayer, Matt Shingledecker, Blake Bashoff, Jake Epstein, Kyle Riabko... Those are just a few.

Angela Mitchell: Out of the many projects and productions you've worked on, which were special favorites, and why?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: Spring Awakening is at the top of my list. It was such an honor to work on such an incredible piece of theatre. But what really made it special was that the level of expectation for everyone involved was so high; nothing less than the highest quality work was acceptable. This made it a wonderful environment to work in where everyone was inspired to do their best.

My other favorite is actually a production of Les Miserables that I music-directed at a high school.

Angela Mitchell: I'm pausing for a moment out of reverence as a total cheesy Les Miz fangirl. Okay, onward. That's great to hear, though -- it sounds like it was amazing.

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: It was a really special production because everyone had a true, honest, loving intention behind their work. It was one of those experiences that changed the lives of everyone involved.

Angela Mitchell: Which is the definition of why it's so special to work in the theatre. I won't ask you to name your least favorite productions, at least by name, but what factors can make a production less than fun to work on, especially when it comes to your own role?

Kristen Lee Rosenfeld: When people are more interested in impressing others than in actually doing the work, it makes it very difficult to collaborate effectively.