In Saturday’s (2/5) Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), Steve Siegel reports on the conductor-training program run by Diane Wittry, conductor and music director of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (Connecticut) and the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. “ ‘Applying for a conductor or music director job is a lot like applying for a CEO position right after school—who’s going to hire you?’ asks Wittry. To address that issue, Wittry created a seminar and conducting workshop in Norwalk, Conn., to help budding conductors survive in the intensely competitive world of classical music. Wittry’s ‘Beyond the Baton’ program, now in its fifth year, puts to practical use the information in her 2007 book of the same name. … Wittry has followed up on her workshop with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra’s new National ‘Conducting Fellows’ program. This season the program is giving four experienced area conductors the opportunity to assist the orchestra in a variety of tasks, as well as meet with its professional staff to enhance the skills required to be an effective orchestra leader, both on and off the podium. … For Wittry, one of the most important issues for any young conductor to tackle is that of programming.”
Posted February 7, 2011
