Rock ‘n’ Rozsa

Many years ago, I first played a pops show in Columbus that was made up entirely of us playing extended excerpts of classic films scores from the golden age of film music while the originally films were shown on a giant screen behind the orchestra. It’s a great show,...

Why Walton?

As a musician who likes to explore the rare and odd byways of the repertoire as well as play the hits, I’m often asked what has drawn me to program and perform this or that unusual piece. Depending on the venue and the listener, threshold at which “a piece”...

Gal on Mahler

As we celebrate the release of the new Gal CD, I’m hoping to use this blog to give readers a chance to get to know a little bit more about this fascinating musician and figure. I thought we might make a nice bridge from recent topics by starting with Mahler....

Franck and the lost middle ground

This Satuday evening I’m conducting a program that includes Berlioz’s Corsaire Overture, the Saint-Saens 3rd Violin Concerto and the Franck Symphony in D minor. It’s almost ten years to the day since I last conducted the Franck (that time around it was paired with the...