The complex art of conducting may look effortless to the casual onlooker, however, it requires a great deal of knowledge and skill. The success of a performance hinges on the director's ability to keep the group playing together and interpreting the music as the composer intended. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Conducting Music shows student and novice conductors how to lead bands, orchestras, choirs, and other ensembles effectively through sight-reading, rehearsals, and performances.

DVD contains discussion and demonstration of instrumental and choral conducting techniques by the author and Eugene Migliaro Corporon; in part, animation.

"The most comprehensive guide on the rehearsal process for conducting instrumental music ensembles. This work breaks the multidimensional activity of working with an ensemble, orchestra, or band into its constituent components"--from publisher description.

In this wide-ranging inside view of the history and practice of conducting, analysis and advice comes directly from working conductors, including Sir Charles Mackerras on opera, Bramwell Tovey on being an Artistic Director, Martyn Brabbins on modern music, Leon Botstein on programming and Vance George on choral conducting, and from those who work closely with conductors: a leading violinist describes working as a soloist with Stokowski, Ormandy and Barbirolli, while Solti and Abbado's studio producer explains orchestral recording, and one of the world's most powerful managers tells all. The book includes advice on how to conduct different types of groups (choral, opera, symphony, early music) and provides a substantial history of conducting as a study of national traditions. It is an unusually honest book about a secretive industry and managers, artistic directors, soloists, players and conductors openly discuss their different perspectives for the first time.

(Meredith Music Resource). This outstanding "one-of-a-kind" text was designed to assist the conductor in achieving a personal interpretation of music.

(Meredith Music Resource). A thought provoking collection of ideas by today's leading conductors on how a conductor develops feelings for a piece of music and communicates those feelings to an ensemble.