I don't want to downplay the need for rehearsal. It's nearly impossible to simply count for that long, so percussion players REALLY need to know the shape of th

I don't want to downplay the need for rehearsal. It's nearly impossible to simply count for that long, so percussion players REALLY need to know the shape of the piece (perhaps more than the rest of the ensemble, in my biased opinion) to get their cues right. A nod from the conductor is reassuring, but she also has literally a dozen things happening simultaneously that she must attend to, so you can't depend on it.