“I realized that my job is to awaken possibility in others.”

Teacher

IT’S ALL ABOUT TEACHING

Benjamin Zander has been a teacher most of his life. He teaches master classes all over the world, including, since 2006, a class for conductors as part of the London Master Classes at the Royal Academy in London.

Since 1967, Ben served on the Faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston, where his Friday Class, called, provocatively, “Interpretation”, gained almost legendary status.

He has served as the Artistic Director of the Music Program at the Walnut Hill School, a boarding high school for the training of highly accomplished young performing artists.

Even his concerts are an aspect of his teaching. Ever mindful of the need to educate audiences, Ben precedes most of his concerts with lectures about the music. During these 45 minute sessions, he helps listeners to grasp the ideas and structure of the music, enabling even the completely unschooled to follow the music as it unfolds.

In 2001 the Boston Philharmonic instituted a new concert series, THE BOSE DISCOVERY SERIES, designed to attract a new audience to classical music. Each performance is preceded by an explanation of the music by the conductor, using the orchestra to demonstrate the points.

Motivated by the same desire to educate what he calls the “unsuspecting,” Ben has developed a highly successful program called “Classical Fever” – a free concert to introduce newcomers to classical music.

With each of his discs issued on the Telarc label, Benjamin Zander offers a full-length free explication CD for the lay listener with detailed explanations of the music. Visit the recordings page for more details.

Zander Fellows

“Everything Ben does is essentially about teaching. Whether he’s talking to a room full of CEOs, coaching a cellist in a master class or taking an orchestral rehearsal it’s all about releasing our potential and helping us speak directly
to our audience, whatever we play, wherever we play it. It’s all about freeing the broad phrases and the long lines, showing us that what we do in our music and what we do in our lives are all part of the same rhythm. Telling us that all we need is the courage to listen and join in

– James Lowe – Conductor
2001-2002 Zander Fellow

 

Interpretation Class

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