a mic on the podium

Nov 03 2024 154 ep. 66 mins 22

a mic on the podium Podcast artwork

Conductors - who are they, what do they do and how did they get to become a conductor? British conductor, Michael Seal conducts conversations with a distinguished list of conductors to find out all the answers. Each week, Michael interviews a conductor and discovers the journey each conductor has taken towards the conductors podium along with secrets from their teachers and mentors. At the end of each episode, every conductor will be asked the same set of 10 questions, helping us all to find out what makes them tick. So if you’ve ever been curious about the person waving the baton, or you are a real conducting geek, then this should be a fascinating insight in to what it takes to become a maestro.

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Episode 148 - Andrew Constantine

Nov 03 2024 95 mins

Andrew Constantine and I have known each other for over 30 years, and catching up with him was brilliant. It was a lovely warm chat with someone who really thinks long and hard about what we do as conductors. We talk very frankly about the cultural differences between the US and the UK, I discover which competition he thought he should have won, and he uses a wonderful metaphor to

Episode 147 - Karen Ní Bhroin

May 19 2024 72 mins

Karen Ní Bhroin and I have one thing in common - we both have our own podcast about conducting. It means that she really does think a lot about what we do and it was just nice chatting with her throughout! I discovered that the COVID pandemic actually increased her workload in the United States, we had a very geeky discussion about metronome marks, and we also learned that if we

Episode 146 - Neil Thomson

Apr 21 2024 79 mins

I have fond memories of the first time I met Neil Thomson and knew this would be a good interview - a charming man who has spent a lot of time thinking about what we do as conductors. We discussed the pros and cons of conducting from memory, we also chatted about the role of a conductor at a conservatoire and the role of being an orchestra trainer, and I heard about his experience

Episode 145 - Ryan McAdams

Mar 31 2024 100 mins

I could have chatted with Ryan McAdams for many hours - it turned out to be one of the longest episodes yet! We had such an open and honest discussion sprinkled with a lot of humour. We had a fascinating discussion about the importance of eye contact between players and the conductor, he told me a wonderful quote from Wynton Marsalis that sums up how conductors should view their l

SPECIAL EPISODE - RCS CONDUCTING STUDENTS (Part 2)

Mar 10 2024 58 mins

Part 2 of my chat with Jacobus de Jager, Oliver Cope, Peggy Wu, Kentaro Machida & Riley Court-Wood is here. They are all studying conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and they were brilliant fun to interview. In Part 2, they all answered ten questions and we discussed the price of scores and competitions, I discovered what works they are desperate to condu

SPECIAL EPISODE - RCS CONDUCTING STUDENTS (Part 1)

Mar 03 2024 57 mins

In this special episode, I chat with Jacobus de Jager, Oliver Cope, Peggy Wu, Kentaro Machida & Riley Court-Wood. They are all studying conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and they were brilliant fun to interview. In Part 1, I discovered what a ”typical” week is like as a conducting student at RCS, we discussed the best way to approach conducting clas

Episode 144 - Boian Videnoff

Feb 04 2024 80 mins

Boian Videnoff and I last met 17 years ago yet this felt like we just carried on from where we left off - a lovely chat with a very open and honest conductor. We discussed the worldview of The Arts and how over time, it has changed so dramatically, we talked about the difficulties involved with starting your own orchestra, and I discovered a potential pitfall when switching betwee

Episode 143 - Catherine Larsen-Maguire

Jan 21 2024 86 mins

With our similar career paths and backgrounds, Catherine Larsen-Maguire and I had much in common and hit it off immediately. She was frank and open and a joy to chat with. I heard how the passing of a close friend changed her whole attitude toward her life and career, we both agreed that conducting offstage is a frightening experience, and I discovered how a chance meeting in a Be

Episode 142 - Johannes Schlaefli

Dec 24 2023 60 mins

Johannes Schlaefli is one of the foremost conducting teachers today and as a consequence, has spent a lot of time thinking about what we do. A fascinating conversation with a very warm and honest gentleman. We discuss the merits of being a wind player or a string player when we first start conducting, we discovered that when we teach conducting, we both use the very same metaphor,

Episode 140 - Baldur Brönnimann

Nov 26 2023 67 mins

I really enjoyed this interview! Baldur Brönnimann and I got along instantly and we seem to have very similar views about what we do and how we do it. There was also a lot of laughter as well... We had a serious discussion about the need for orchestras in the cultural life of any country, we discussed why conducting is subjective and that we should be talking about this when we t