Table of Contents

Prologue

1 Preparing for Success
2 Path to the Podium
3 Your First Job
4 Artistic Leadership
5 Artistic Programming
6 The People Factor
7 Funding the Artistic Vision
8. Closing Thoughts

Resources

Music Organizations
Music Sources
Training and Personal Development
Programming Resources
Sample Contracts and Resume Format
Recommended Reading

Photo Credits
Index

About the Author

Diane Wittry is currently the Music Director of both the Allentown and Norwalk Symphony Orchestras and a frequent guest conductor for numerous orchestras, both in the United States and throughout the world. She is the recipient of many honors and awards, including the American Symphony Orchestra League's 1996 Helen M. Thompson Award, which recognized her outstanding artistic leadership with a regional orchestra.

Reviews

"Being a music director for a symphony orchestra may be a demanding, tension-filled job, but if in the process of doing that job lives can be changed 'for the better,' then it is certainly worth doing well. Beyond the Baton will help any music conductor to do so, and that's why Wittry wrote it."-Geary Dahiny, Norwalk Citizen
"Beyond the Baton is not a text concerned with stick technique or nuances of interpretation. Rather, it is a no-nonsense explanation of the conducting profession with a distinctive philosophy of leadership. I recommend this text enthusiastically and without reservation."--Sean Burton, Choral Journal
"This book does a very thorough job of addressing a broad range of issues faced by conductors in the early stages of their careers, thus filling a need in the literature targeting our profession. Topics not addressed in most conducting textbooks, such as job-seeking, programming criteria, and board relations, are all covered with clarity and insight. Highly recommended as a practical resource for young conductors!"--Tonu Kalam, Music Director, University of
North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and President, Conductors Guild
"Wittry has done a wonderful job in producing what is surely a first: a guide to what lies beyond the music in the modern orchestral scene."--Paul Sarcich, Music and Vision
"There is much more to a successful conducting career than merely standing on the podium and making music. Diane Wittry has provided a remarkably thorough and thoughtful guide to this unique profession, one that will be of immense value to every aspiring conductor who hopes to work and flourish in American orchestras."--Henry Fogel, President and CEO, American Symphony Orchestra League