Podium Time

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It's finally here! We are so excited to be starting this Patreon page and being able to offer you fine listeners some incredible extra content. You'll hear me mention how I've wanted to do many things for a long time, and so many of them are finally coming together today! Give it a listen below, or head over to Patreon.com/PodiumTimePod to sign up!

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We’ve been excited to talk with Maestro Kiesler for a while, and this interview is everything that Luke and I hoped that it could be. Friends have told us all about the Conductors Retreat at Medomak and Kiesler’s view and style of score study, and we dig deep into both of those things in this episode. And before we continue, do know that as of this episode they are still taking participants for the 2019 summer session, so sign up! 

In this episode, we talk about the culture at the retreat, including how the only competition is with yourself, and about the beauty and importance of being in nature. We also talk about what the actual goal of score study is. I’ve been struggling with this since I started, and I’m sure that a whole bunch of our listeners are as well, but Maestro Kiesler explains perfectly how he comes to absorb a score and really own it as a piece, as well as some methods to achieve that deeper appreciation and understanding. We also dig a bit into the brains of Puccini, Britten, and Mahler in some of Kiesler’s escapades, and get some vicarious sage advice from Boulez. Finally, we discuss one of the biggest drawbacks of how conductors and search committees now are looking at videos, and how we’ve started watching and stopped listening. So plug in your headphones and absorb this incredible interview for an hour and a half, then put it away and take a walk in nature.

This week we discuss:

• The Conductors Retreat at Medomak and why it's an important experience for both developing and established conductors
• The goals of score study: forming an internal image and owning a score
• The Youtube Effect on conductors and search committees: why we watch instead of listen
• Hidden Gems
• Kiesler’s Billboards

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What’s the greatest problem with how we’re educating our educators? This week, Luke and I sit down with William LaRue Jones to dig into reasons you shouldn’t go to graduate school, what Juilliard students conducted every year, and why you need to practice conducting.

This week we discuss:

-The steep learning curve of teaching
-Conducting is the only thing that includes every area of your musical education
-Relate everything to the score
-The great problems when we train music teachers
-Don’t recycle your old interpretation
-Grad School is not for professional conductors
-Hidden Gems and programming underrepresented groups 

Find this and all other episodes at PodiumTimePod.Wordpress.com, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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I had so many different titles that I wanted to put on this episode. We talked about building your library of lessons and teachers and experiences, the art of music, and how to hack  your microwave. It was so hard to pick just one. A big part of what we discuss in this episode is exactly what we’re doing with Podium Time: learning from as many teachers as we can. Charles’s revelation about music while studying in Vienna really hit me as something that I’d been hearing all over but have had trouble applying: Music is about Art, not Correctness. I notice it in my preparation for a workshop, trying to think of everything that the teacher could think of and forgetting that we’re creating expression with what we do. Let this episode really spark a new appreciation for what we are doing on the podium and on our instruments any time we create music. Let it inspire your teaching! And while you’re teaching, own your mistakes!

This week we discuss:

• Teaching what a conductor does
• How to use recordings
• Learning from multiple teachers
• Mark everything in your score – Build a Library of Markings
• Benefits of a large program
• “For me now, music has become about art and not about correctness.”
• What you can learn from a scale
• The joy of concertos
• Freedom to experiment in rehearsal and performance
• Notes on programming underrepresented works
• Charles’s Billboards

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This week we discuss:

• Foster’s Path to the Podium
• Why do conductors live so long, and why do they all play trombone?
• How Middle-school is like College
• Focus on the Big Picture
• Rotating the string seating
• Foster’s Teachers:
• Hidden Gems
• Foster’s Billboard

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Today we sit down for a fantastic in-person discussion with a long-time friend, Dr. Christopher Koch. We were so glad to get this opportunity while Jeremy was in Missouri for Christmas, and the results do not disappoint! Get the new year started with this incredible interview.

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Kick-Ass doesn’t even begin to describe Kevin Noe. Actor, writer, conductor, and lover of fine headphones, Kevin is our most-requested guest on the podcast yet, and today he walks us through his exploration of Mozart 40, the celebration of dissonance, and an awesome opportunity for mixing music and wine this summer.

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It turns out that conductors are pretty busy during the holidays. Who knew! So, since everybody's busy with performances of the Nutcracker, Jeremy is going solo today and sharing some of my favorite podcasts and books for all you conductors and students out there.  

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 Today, Luke and Alex lead our first interview with a Band Director, Dr. Michael Mapp, and it does not disappoint in the slightest. His answer to Luke’s question about what our education is lacking hits home in more than one way. What are you bringing to the music that you conduct and how are you leading your ensembles? We cover directing different age groups, the experience of score study, and what our education is lacking. 

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