RCICW day 3

Day three is somehow both the longest and shortest day of the workshop. By this point, one feels that one has really gotten a very good sense of each of the conducting students, both as musicians and as people. By this point in the workshop, we’re starting to see real...

RCICW day 4

The last day of this year’s workshop. On paper, it looks like the most laid-back schedule of the week- we start a little later, have only one teaching session and the concert. It wasn’t unreasonable of me to think that this would be the one day I could get a few...

RCICW day 2

Absolutely shattered after a long, intense day at the RCICW, but really want to make note of a few thoughts. The more I teach and the longer I work the more I’m in awe of the students. One leaves one’s studying years behind for two reasons. First, you may be lucking...

RCICW day 1

Very intense, but exciting, first day of the RCICW. For those of you who aren’t conductors, here is basically how most workshops like this work…. The main challenge for any young conductor is finding an instrument (orchestra) to practice on. In order to provide an...

Beethoven and sound

Beethoven-    Why do we talk about him in such simplistic terms? Why do we have to choose sides between old school loud, slow and flabby and new school fast, shrill and cold? Is absence of vibrato really a sophisticated sound concept? Is vibrato on every note really a...