I'm not surprised by the result. Judging solely from my choral background, of course conductors are needed. We're trained from day one to follow maestro's direction, but to listen to our neighbors and blend in. Working with a good conductor and a poor one is night-and-day. If you are just up there to wave your arms and keep time, you're not doing the job. Good conductors emote, use a variety of gestures, know their music very well, are unafraid to take charge, and correct-correct-correct. We performers are there to do what we are told; we know that we cannot hear all the sections as well as the conductor can, and that the conductor's interpretation of the music takes precedence over our own. Not all the dynamics in a performance - by a long shot - are explicitly scored.