Growing A Better Breed Of Conductor

Ask any orchestra musician to name the biggest problem in their industry, and you’ll likely hear, “not enough good conductors.” But like the weather, everyone talks about the lack of conducting talent on the international scene, but nobody does anything about it. Except maybe Leonard Slatkin, whose five-year-old National Conducting Institute brings together talented young baton-twirlers to learn not only the finer musical points of the job, but also the diplomatic skills necessary to succeed in orchestral music’s most difficult and multi-faceted profession.