| Life as performing musician, interractive program notes, musical opinion, Mahler and more Visit the Blog |
| Kenneth Woods, conductor |
| ken's page |
| The unofficial bio: American conductor Kenneth Woods has taken a rather scenic route to the podium. Originally bitten by the conducting bug when he seized the opportunity to “conduct” an excerpt of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony at an open rehearsal when he was four years old, he has been a rock ‘n’ roll guitarist, jazz musician, writer and theatrical light designer. Through all these phases, the cello has been his constant companion, as a soloist, orchestral player and chamber musician. As a rocker, Ken still relishes the memories of working with a drummer named Chicken, a guitarist who took to playing in a diaper and a lead singer who used to pull a “special secret surprise” out of the bass drum at every show. He’s worked with a number of internationally known orchestras including the National Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he appears frequently on BBC Radio 3. He has held the Aspen Fellowship in both cello and conducting, and was a Debut Artist in the National Conducting Institute at the Kennedy Center but has also been artist-in-residence in the poorest county in America (on the floodplains of Northeast Arkansas) during his time with the Taliesin Trio, and has been the music director of the “most remotely situated full- symphony orchestra on the planet” (the Oregon East Symphony) since 2000. He continues to play chamber music with members of leading orchestras and quartets, but has also enjoyed diverse projects such as being the banjo player and guitarist for the Grammy Award-winning New England Ragtime Ensemble, and spending a year as acting director of the Eastern Jazz Ensemble. As a teacher, he frequently works with youth orchestras and is the founder of an international summer institute for young conductors in Portland, Oregon. Ken moved to Britain in 2003 and lives in Cardiff with his wife, Suzanne, their dog, Murphy, and their very well- traveled cat, Picasso. Together, they enjoy camping and hiking, food and film. Ken’s longstanding interest in writing has recently found a new outlet with his popular blog, A View from the Podium, which has gained favorable notice from the music and arts critics of the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker magazine. In 2000, he fulfilled the ambition of his four-year-old self by conducting his first complete performances of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, a work he now performs often. He much prefers not returning the baton to another conductor. |
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| Ken and Murphy on Rannoch Moor in the Scottish Highlands |
| Writings- Essays, program notes, opinion... |
Thanks for visiting the site. Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments. I'd also like to invite you to visit the blog. There you'll not only find current writings and journal entries, but also interactive program notes for the works I'll be conducting. It's your chance to get my take on the music before you come to the concert. Ken |
Program Note- Bartok Viola Concerto
| Ken at the summit of Mount Evans, 14,264 feet (the top of America's highest paved road) |
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