The Conductors Toolbox

What do coaches, master teachers, and studies of the psychology of learning have to teach us about conducting? It turns out, quite a bit. In this concise yet insightful volume, Richard Sparks draws from years of experience in the professional choral world and from his time teaching at two leading universities to help choral conductors transform their craft and create truly artful experiences. He gains inspiration from legendary college basketball coach John Wooden and shares striking and refreshing parallels between coaching sports teams and conducting music ensembles. Sparks draws equally from research in the fields of teaching and the psychology of learning and what a conductor can take from those areas as well. Just as an artisan builds a set of skills and learns the tools of the trade, conductors too must build a box of tools to help them learn, understand, and interpret music; lead rehearsals; and conduct.