All Entries in the "MD Search Process" Category

And Now for Something Completely Different….

So two weeks ago was the 40th anniversary of Monty Python’s Flying Circus first broadcast hence the title, but I have also been thinking  about the way orchestras typically go about searching for a Music Director and if this process needs to be done in a very different and more forward thinking way.  I believe [...]

The Three Am”egos”…..

The common wisdom is to always look forward, live in the present, never in the past, whats done is done and so on.  However at the Springfield Symphony’s season opening concert last Saturday, we brought the past to life in celebration of the our 75th anniversary season.  We didn’t bring out archives to display in [...]

What I meant to say was…..

It makes my head scratch when an orchestra that is about to begin a search for their next music director on the one hand indicates that they need someone who’s willing to spend more time in their city than their departing music director, but on the other hand indicates in writing that they are not [...]

Another Drumroll Please……

Just a quick note today to say that I am totally thrilled to announce that I have been appointed the Music Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta!!!!!!  I recently wrote about my time up there and I am excited that I (with my family!) will be getting to spend 6 weeks in the summers collaborating [...]

Jumping in the Lake!

So we are on our way back to Springfield, MO, after a glorious month dividing our time between Syracuse and Lake Placid, NY, doing concerts in both places.  Pictured left is Mirror Lake at Lake Placid (taken with our cheap digital camera no less!) breathtaking does not begin to describe the Adirondack region.  There was [...]

Happy Hello and Happy Trails!….

I’m thrilled to have been named Principal Pops Conductor of the Syracuse Symphony! I will get to do all kinds of programs: pops, regional, family, and some classical ones too!  I have been a regular guest since 2002 and love working with them.  My most memorable experience so far occurred traveling to a Holiday Pops [...]

2009 – The Year of the Audience….let’s hope!

Could this be the year with seemingly inevitable economic woes painting a bleak picture for individual, corporate and foundation support and most importantly ticket sales, that while strategizing we collectively all ask the question……well what does the audience want? It’s not so much that we need to hit the reset button, but we do need [...]

Junichi and the sad truth….

Both Bill and Drew have Junichi’s so called departure well covered.  The legacy he has left behind is a future for the orchestra.  His speaking out and standing with the musicians, essentially throwing himself under the proverbial bus, was the catalyst for no acceptance for a reduction in Orchestra personnel.  This means that that they [...]

Charlotte Pt. 6

Charlotte #5 Alive……..

It’s past midnight and I’m watching Monk on USA. I’m exhausted. I can barely stand. It’s been a long day and I’m not sure I’ll be able to make sense. But here it goes…….

Charlotte Part IV

The day breaks and the prognostic is not good. My muscles are stiffer than a porn star on extra-strength Viagra. And I have to play Mozart today. Oy.

Charlotte Part The Third

Second full day in Charlotte and I wake up feeling like an old man. Between conducting, practicing, and the long bike ride yesterday this 43-year-old body is complaining. Nothing to do but do it all over again.