a mic on the podium

I have fond memories of the first time I met Neil Thomson and knew this would be a good interview - a charming man who has spent a lot of time thinking about what we do as conductors. We discussed the pros and cons of conducting from memory, we also chatted about the role of a conductor at a conservatoire and the role of being an orchestra trainer, and I heard about his experiences with a legendary British conductor who was once described as "a benign despot"!   If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 2nd March 2024 via Zoom.

I could have chatted with Ryan McAdams for many hours - it turned out to be one of the longest episodes yet! We had such an open and honest discussion sprinkled with a lot of humour. We had a fascinating discussion about the importance of eye contact between players and the conductor, he told me a wonderful quote from Wynton Marsalis that sums up how conductors should view their lives, and I discovered which famous conductor he thought had a "Hannibal Lecter quality"! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 16th February 2024 via Zoom.

  Part 2 of my chat with Jacobus de Jager, Oliver Cope, Peggy Wu, Kentaro Machida & Riley Court-Wood is here. They are all studying conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and they were brilliant fun to interview. In Part 2, they all answered ten questions and we discussed the price of scores and competitions, I discovered what works they are desperate to conduct and never have, and I asked them what is the best piece of advice they've received and discovered that one of them came from the wall of a gym! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 24th January 2024 via Zoom.

In this special episode, I chat with Jacobus de Jager, Oliver Cope, Peggy Wu, Kentaro Machida & Riley Court-Wood. They are all studying conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and they were brilliant fun to interview. In Part 1, I discovered what a "typical" week is like as a conducting student at RCS, we discussed the best way to approach conducting classes with two pianos, and a chat about competitions led us to discuss two recent movie releases that feature conductors! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 24th January 2024 via Zoom.

Boian Videnoff and I last met 17 years ago yet this felt like we just carried on from where we left off - a lovely chat with a very open and honest conductor. We discussed the worldview of The Arts and how over time, it has changed so dramatically, we talked about the difficulties involved with starting your own orchestra, and I discovered a potential pitfall when switching between conducting off an iPad versus an old-fashioned paper score! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 2nd January 2024 via Zoom.

With our similar career paths and backgrounds, Catherine Larsen-Maguire and I had much in common and hit it off immediately. She was frank and open and a joy to chat with. I heard how the passing of a close friend changed her whole attitude toward her life and career, we both agreed that conducting offstage is a frightening experience, and I discovered how a chance meeting in a Berlin pub, and one beer mat in particular, changed her career path! If you want to hear the bonus mini-episode attached to this episode, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 3rd December 2023 via Zoom.

Johannes Schlaefli is one of the foremost conducting teachers today and as a consequence, has spent a lot of time thinking about what we do. A fascinating conversation with a very warm and honest gentleman. We discuss the merits of being a wind player or a string player when we first start conducting, we discovered that when we teach conducting, we both use the very same metaphor, and I get very jealous about where he lives! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 10th October 2023 via Zoom.

Jan Latham-Koenig has had a long and distinguished career all across the globe and as a consequence, has many stories to tell. He was charming and honest, always a great combination. I discovered how a change of conducting teacher at the Royal College of Music helped his career to start, I found out how close he came to becoming a politician, and I discovered how he managed to stage three different opera productions in Chile all whilst his orchestra was on strike! If you want to hear the bonus mini-episode attached to this episode, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 5th December 2022 via Zoom.

I really enjoyed this interview! Baldur Brönnimann and I got along instantly and we seem to have very similar views about what we do and how we do it. There was also a lot of laughter as well... We had a serious discussion about the need for orchestras in the cultural life of any country, we discussed why conducting is subjective and that we should be talking about this when we teach, and a chat about conducting with or without a baton breaks down in fits of laughter! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 25th May 2023 via Zoom.

In a world where conductors regularly jet across the globe conducting orchestras, Marios Papadopoulos is one of those rare exceptions who is far happier staying at home conducting his own orchestra he founded in Oxford. He was a joy to chat with, very honest and self-effacing! I heard about his early struggles trying to promote his concerts in Oxford, he told me how and why he chooses the musicians who play in his orchestra, and how a childhood encounter with a razor led to a very interesting answer to Question 1! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 6th July 2023 via Zoom.

Thomas Søndergård and I had a few things in common, mainly being ex-orchestral players. I enjoyed chatting with him very much - he is definitely someone who thinks a lot about what we do as conductors! I found out how his relationships with two UK orchestras started within thirty minutes of each other, we discussed how to cope with conducting your own orchestral colleagues for the first time, and one of his choices in answering Question 6 prompted me to relive a frightening concert memory! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 15th September 2023 via Zoom.

Toby Purser and I had a wonderful chat, as I knew it would be. We had a particularly "deep dive" into teaching and every aspect of what that entails. I discovered that his love of opera started after a stint conducting in prison, I also learned how a chance meeting with an elderly gentleman changed his musical life, and Toby used an English phrase in this interview that frankly I was surprised nobody else had used in the previous 136 episodes! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 9th June 2023 via Zoom.

Carlos Miguel Prieto and I had never met yet we seemed to hit it off immediately and we chatted for quite a long time about all manner of topics, always warm-hearted and honest, which I like! We discussed how it is important to sometimes "come up through the ranks, I discover which famous billionaire he shared a university class with, and I discover which book he took with him for 2 years on conducting trips yet never managed to finish! If you want to hear the bonus mini-episode attached to this episode, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 1st June 2023 via Zoom.

Duncan Ward and I have met on a couple of occasions very briefly so it was nice to actually sit down and have a good chat. It proved to be very light-hearted, open and extremely honest. We discussed our early forays into the world of guest conducting very frankly, I heard how a score of one of his compositions left open in a dressing room changed his life, and I heard how a language barrier once caused a very funny case of mistaken identity! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 13th September 2023 via Zoom.

Just a short little message telling you what will be happening on the podcast over the coming weeks - don't worry, it is nothing to be alarmed by! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium).

Clark Rundell's name has been familiar to me for years, both as a conductor and one-half of the infamous "Mark & Clark" teaching team at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He was lovely to chat with and someone I would love to spend more time with in the future. I discovered that his hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota, had an incredible music education policy, he told me many great stories about his association with the composer, Louis Andriessen, and he gave a totally original, and very funny answer, to Question 2! If you want to hear the bonus mini-episode attached to this episode, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 12th July 2023 via Zoom.

Anna-Maria Helsing is, like me, a conductor who started late after being a violinist. We had a lot in common and we got along with each other very easily, with a lot of laughing and warmth. I discovered why she was a "violin nerd", why she went to watch other conductors rehearse at a very specific part of their rehearsal process, and I discovered that she loves birdsong and also hates birdsong! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 13th April 2023 via Zoom.

With both Christopher Warren-Green and myself coming from an orchestral playing background, you would imagine we had a whole lot in common. We did! I found him a joy to chat with and we agreed on an awful lot of topics. I found out why he doesn't miss playing the violin at all, he was very candid about "hiring and firing" in the US and how, initially at least, starting as a Music Director in the US was "a bit of a culture shock, and we get very political indeed after Jeremy Clarkson's name had cropped up in the conversation! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 8th June 2023 via Zoom.

I was lucky enough to meet Atso Almila in person recently and knew he would be the perfect guest to interview - a warm and charming man who speaks frankly and honestly with a touch of humour! I heard about how he and Esa Pekka Salonen passed their final exam at the Sibelius Academy in bizarre circumstances, he was very frank about how his time conducting in Joensuu came to an end, and at one point, he scares his 15-year-old dog! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 26th May 2023 via Zoom.

Dane Lam is a conductor who has thought a lot about what we do and how we do it and was a real joy to chat with. We seem to have many common views and I enjoyed his honesty and warmth. We talked candidly about his experiences conducting his orchestra in China, I found out who had told him that he was "a very lucky boy, and because he is a regular listener to the podcast, his answers to the ten questions at the end were very well thought-through indeed! If you would like to discover a whole lot more about conductors and conducting, why not subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/amiconthepodium, and, for a monthly fee starting from just £5 a month, you can access two new series of interviews, group Zoom meetings with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles, photos, videos and even conducting lessons from myself. If you listen via Apple podcasts, please do leave a rating and review - it really helps the podcast get noticed and attract more listeners. If you want to get involved on social media, you can via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amiconthepodium) or Twitter (@amiconthepodium). This interview was recorded on 27th February 2023 via Zoom.