I used to go with him and I'd sometimes play, take over from him. That was my first taste of the music business, I suppose, but I was also in the youth orchestra at Johnston Grammar.
I began as a violinist, not a composer. Thus my contact with orchestral musicians, with the source of music, is very important.
There is no greater thrill than to sing with a beautiful orchestra.
When I did the album for 'When Harry Met Sally,' I found myself out there in front of this big band, which I had no idea how to do, and they wiped the floor with me. It's a very specific skill, and I didn't know how to do it.
I sometimes feel it is to my disadvantage that I have not conducted the Cleveland Orchestra or the Boston or Chicago symphonies, but then I have had to sacrifice something in order to have enough time with my orchestras.
I grew up playing in youth orchestras, so they were my most treasured memories, so to be in front of an orchestra playing my own material would be incredible.
From time to time, the Vienna Philharmonic could play without a conductor because they are so good.
I will never master this craft. Orchestras are very, very forthcoming with me.
Nothing can grab you by the throat - or heart or soul - like an orchestra. It's undeniably the most engaging and exciting way to bring a score to life.
Over the years it has been my privilege to lead performances with Saint Louis, the National Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and so many other wonderful organizations.
My music wouldn't sound the way it does if I hadn't had the experience of conducting.
it's important as a composer to sit in silence and imagine these complex musical worlds in your head, but it's also a wonderful experience to touch your music and to hear it and hear it in the room with you and to say, you can't have an entire orchestra there, but you'd kind of like to have the orchestra there.
People get a real kick out of hearing our songs with an orchestra. It makes you feel like you're in a movie with unexpected bursts of energy. It's really kind of psychedelic in a way.
