rehearsal techniques

S2E9: How Much Should I Talk at Conducting Auditions?

Conducting auditions are something that’s hard to navigate as each organization and ensemble does look for different things, but no one would disqualify a good conductor! Typically, an audition for an assistant conductor would be only 10-15 minutes, while a music director audition might be a full rehearsal (2-3 hour), or even a concert cycle…

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S2E8: Navigating the Business with Kevin Fitzgerald

Today’s episode is the second half of my conversation with a long-time friend, Kevin Fitzgerald, current Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony. Last week we spoke about preparing for job applications and auditions, and today we will continue the conversation and hear all the behind the scene stories of navigating the business. As 2021 Tanglewood…

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S2E7: Application and Audition Prep with Kevin Fitzgerald

In today’s episode, you will hear the first half of my conversation with a long-time friend, Kevin Fitzgerald, current Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony. We went way back to my years at the Eastman School of Music, and it’s such a pleasure to speak with him on the topic of preparing for job applications…

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S2E1: Three Mistakes to Avoid with String Sectionals

As the largest body of an orchestra, it’s always great to have a string sectional to unify style, articulation, and even phrasing. If you are not a string player yourself, what are the mistakes to avoid when leading a string sectional? Instead of: Get stuck in bowing discussions Not knowing your terms Give instructions on…

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56: Cynthia Johnston Turner on Good Conducting and Leadership

In this truly exciting episode, the one and only Dr. Cynthia Johnson Turner discuss the broad meaning behind good conducting and how you can stand up on the podium as a leader.  Johnston Turner, a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the Eastman School…

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50: How Do I Get Better?

Welcome to the Conductor’s Podcast Summer Mini Series! In today’s episode, I will be talking about how to improve my conducting! This is the question that I got asked a lot, and in today’s episode I will be sharing some tips that were given to me, and also some that have worked well for myself…

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47: Prepping for Rehearsals

Welcome to the Conductor’s Podcast Summer Mini Series! During the month of July, we are taking a break from the usual interview conversations. Instead, I will be sharing some tips on different aspects of a conductor’s job with you every week. In today’s episode, I will be talking about prepping for rehearsals. For me, the…

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19: Running Efficient and Effective Rehearsals by Using your Words and Voice Well

Show Notes: Today we are going to talk about something that I personally love speaking about — running effective and efficient rehearsals! There are many aspects about planning for rehearsals — from strategizing the overarching rehearsal goals throughout the concert cycle, to pacing each individual rehearsal session; from choosing the right program to being mindful…

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11: Building a Collaborative Creative Team – Tips for Working with Living Composers with Rachel Howley

Show Notes: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 🅽🅴🆆 🅼🆄🆂🅸🅲?   One of the great advantages of performing works by living composers is that we can ask them questions. A conductor’s job is largely deciphering the composers’ intentions, translating the knowledge into our gestures, and conveying to the musicians to realize…

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