What if we’ve been approaching Music Ed and Conducting backwards? Dr. Jordan suggests, that “the first course in music ed shouldn’t be methods. It should be a semester of learning who you are—because that’s what actually reaches students.”
Why is it that two conductors can give the exact same technical pattern to the same choir, yet pull out two completely different sounds? We spend years studying method books, perfecting rehearsal pacing, and mastering vocal pedagogy—but what happens when our technique begins to eclipse our actual presence on the podium?
Today on the podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome back Dr. James Jordan for his second visit to the show, whose last episode was incredibly helpful and popular with audiences. We dive into his latest book from GIA, The Conductor’s Triangle: Embodied Conducting and Connection. Drawing on over four decades of teaching, the profound influence of his mentor Elaine Brown, and the science behind connection and audiation, James challenges us to move past mechanical conducting habits. We explore what it means to be truly grounded, how listening differs from fixing, and why the most vital instrument in the rehearsal room is simply who you are.
After all, James warns, if your gestures are just mechanical patterns, you’re putting up a shield between your core and your ensemble.
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Tune in and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
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James Jordan is a Grammy ™-nominated conductor and seventh conductor of the renowned Westminster Choir. He is Conductor Emeritus at Westminster Choir College. His experience covers over 40 years of teaching, conducting and research. He is the author of more than sixty-five books on conducting and conducting pedagogy, and has over 20 recordings under the GIAChoralWorks , NAXOS and Reference Recordings labels. He is founding director of The Choral Academy of Evoking Sound,
www.thechoralacademy.com, a groundbreaking platform for continuing study for musicians. He is Co-Founder of The Choral Institute at Oxford. He is Co-Director and Tutor for The Addamus Italian Choral Program (Addamus.com) and in 2027 will lead Conducting Institutes in Oxford, Florence and New York.
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