But if I can be convinced and then through the work that we do together, the orchestra can really be convinced of the big sweep of that communication that the piece suggests, then the audience will get it and it will be a good experience for all of us.

What happens when the music stops? Where does it go?

You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!

A conundrum of music is that music brings people together, yet to become a skilled musician involves a certain amount of lonely time in which you're just figuring it out, practicing.

The way you survive in the performing arts is by having a sense of your audience, and doing things which entertain and satisfy the audience, but in a more important way, cause the audience to question many things.

Thank God for movie music. It preserves the rich vocabulary in classical music through challenging times.

Classical music is a wonderful 1200 year-old tradition that witnesses everything that it has meant and what it means right now to be human.