What makes a good conductor? Ask any musician— you’ll get as many answers. Gone is the despotism and snarky remarks that were tolerated from great Maestros such as Arturo Toscanini, Fritz Reiner, George Szell and Sir Thomas Beecham. Their tirades

It’s the classic quandary for musicians – you’re playing and then all of a sudden something absolutely terrible happens. It may be any number of things – someone gets lost at a critical point in the music, you turn two

I love travelling. And getting to play music while travelling is basically being on holiday, right? Not quite. The flights are booked; the concert’s in the diary; the audience have their tickets. Can you really relax knowing you’ve got an

What Are the Duties of a Stage Manager? Stage managers of orchestras have a very important role. A good one takes expert care of our instruments and the musicians, soloists and conductors— meeting their every wish and whim. The stage

Any veteran musician has some outstanding tour stories to tell. Here is one of mine. The climax of the 2004 Minnesota Orchestra European tour was our performance in Lahti, Finland at the Sibelius Concert Hall. Our new Music Director Osmo

Once again the end of the season finally arrives after weeks of wonderful performances—subscription concerts with great artists and soloists, young people and children’s programs, chamber music performances, and plenty of summer pops programs. Our students scurry to various summer

Sitting in a comfortable seat in a concert hall, watching the soloist striding out confidently, you relax knowing that the performer arrived in good time, had ample rehearsal, and a quiet place to rest beforehand in order to be in

Many think of big festivals in the UK as happening in the bigger cities – London, Cambridge, Huddersfield… But tucked away in the not-too-far reaches of Suffolk lies the quiet town of Aldeburgh, home to one of the most formidable