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The Silent Musician

Conductor Ben Gernon unlocks the traditions and sound worlds of our best orchestras, opening our ears to a fascinating and unusual profession.

When conductor Ben Gernon tells people what he does, he's almost always met with the same response "oh how fascinating... now tell me, what do you actually do?"

Beneath the surface lies a fascinating and unusual profession. The conductor's job spec includes refining colour, manipulating sound and balance, interpretation and philosophy. They think deeply about music, culture, history and performance practice and they need to inspire 70 or so - sometimes rebellious - musicians. But how does that all come together to create a distinctive performance?

In The Silent Musician, Ben charts a sonically rich and provocative ride through the conducting jungle, opening our ears to the possibilities in performance that different conductors create. He unlocks the traditions and sound worlds of our best orchestras (and their concert halls), and explores what happens to the music making when there is no conductor.

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