a mic on the podium

Sometimes you chat with someone and very quickly realise that it is going to be a very interesting conversation!

Kerem Hasan is a conductor who is really going places and it is not hard to see why. We discussed our mental attitudes towards conducting, I found out that he was taught in a very unusual way whilst studying in Weimar, and I get to tell a story about a famous conductor conducting a motorbike!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 17th September 2020 via Zoom.

Sometimes you get to chat with someone who has so many fascinating stories to tell and tells them so brilliantly!

It was wonderful to chat with Matthias Bamert, a most charming man and also open, honest, and candid.

I found out how two "fairytale meetings" with two of the giants of conducting changed his life forever, we discussed recording Mozart and Korngold, and I find out how filming concerts can sometimes be just like filming a game of football?!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 25th October 2020 via Zoom.

One of the bonuses of making this podcast is meeting new people and finding out how lovely they are in person. Gemma New definitely falls into this category!

We discussed the difficulties we have both encountered when conducting Schools, Family, and Pops concerts, she gave the most creative answer yet to the question "when traveling abroad, what item could you not leave home without", and is it Hamilton, Hamilton, or Hamilton?!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 5th November 2020 via Zoom.

It was a joy to chat with one of the true giants of the British classical scene. Sir Andrew Davis was very warm and extremely chatty, with a real willingness to be open and honest.

I discovered which very surprising work was the first orchestral piece he ever conducted, why Janáček's Glagolitic Mass was a pivotal work for him, and which other conducting knight, when he was introduced to him as an "aspiring conductor", told him that he "must be mad"!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 4th August 2020 via Zoom.

Having met Håkan Hardenberger before, I knew this was going to fun!

Håkan told me the brilliant story about how he came to have lessons with Leif Segerstam, how a 50th birthday present really opened his eyes to another profession, and who told him he should have half of his brain removed!

A lovely chat with one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet.

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 26th October 2020 via Zoom.

Sometimes when I chat with a conductor, we just get along straight away and this interview was definitely one of those!

Hugh Wolff is wonderful to chat with, intelligent, warm, and funny. I discovered what he had learned from Rostropovich and how he had benefitted from his "generosity", why he was locked in a room in Paris for eight hours, and we discover that we have very different views on the sound of a "babbling brook"!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 7th November 2020 via Zoom.

Today is 25th April 2021 and also Anzac Day. It seems therefore appropriate to interview my first Australian conductor, probably the most prominent Australian conductor working today.

Simone Young was a joy to chat with - I discovered what pressures there may have been as a "trailblazer", we discussed conducting off-stage and how scary that can be, and I discover what criterion she uses when choosing her hairdressers!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 29th January 2021 via Zoom.

Dima Slobodeniouk was a fascinating person to chat with. We discussed how to cope with "first dates" with the world's top orchestras, I found out that the first piece he ever conducted at the Helsinki Academy was a rather surprising one, and I also discovered which symphony always "emptied him completely" and that he has decided not to conduct anymore!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 7th September 2020 via Zoom.

What a delightful person Kevin John Edusei is and a joy to chat with! In an episode full of "firsts", I discovered how studying to be a sound engineer really helped him as a conductor, I heard everything I wanted to know about the German Kapellmeister system and found out what subject he is very happy to be "nerdy" about.

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 26th January 2021 via Zoom.

Manfred Honeck is such a lovely person to chat with - funny, serious, honest, and fascinating. I got to hear about his days playing in the Vienna Philharmonic and his thoughts on being conducted by Karajan, Bernstein, Kleiber & Harnoncourt, why fruit yoghurt was an early influence on his musical life and his choice of final meal is very apt for this Easter Sunday episode!

If you would like to financially support the podcast, 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 meeting with other fans of the podcast and myself, a monthly bulletin about the podcast and my own career as well as articles and much more.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one-off donation, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/a-mic-on-the-podium and any donation you make will be greatly appreciated and help the podcast live on into the future.

This interview was recorded on 16th September 2020 via Zoom.