2008 Woodie Awards
Orchestra conductor speaks at SHU
Maria Gomez
Issue date: 4/27/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The past April 5, 2006 the Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Edward Cumming came to Sacred Heart to talk about his personal experience with music, his struggles in life to pursue a career as a conductor.
Edward Cumming has just celebrated his fourth season as the ninth Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in 2005-2006. Cumming received a Master of Musical Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Yale University; he was one the students of the German Otto-Werner Mueller.
He was also awarded the valued Eisner Prize for creative Achievement in the Arts when he was as Undergraduate student in the University of California in Berkeley.
"When I was a freshman in college I didn't have any idea what to do. Usually people who want to dedicate their lives to music; they start very young to go to the conservatory et cetera. I had only taken music classes since the age of twelve" said Cumming.
"I had to struggle with my parents; my father wanted me to pursue a career as a musician because I had done it for years; however, my mother wanted me to combine music with business," said Cumming.
"I finally decided to get a degree and then do what I wanted to do," he said.
"When I was a freshmen in college I took a music class in which a barely got a B; but then I took a Symphony class which I enjoyed very much," Cumming said.
"I didn't know I wanted to be a conductor, so I started studying music," he said.
It's difficult to be a conductor. "How do you become a conductor? How do I get an orchestra to practice?" he said.
He finally auditioned for the Yale School Orchestra. The second time he auditioned he got in. He didn't really like the Mr. Mueller, the conductor, but he was good. "He helped me how to study a score among other things," he said.
After three years of different jobs throughout the United States (Yale, Florida, California, Pittsburgh), he is now the conductor of the Hartford Symphony since 2001.
Edward Cumming has just celebrated his fourth season as the ninth Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in 2005-2006. Cumming received a Master of Musical Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Yale University; he was one the students of the German Otto-Werner Mueller.
He was also awarded the valued Eisner Prize for creative Achievement in the Arts when he was as Undergraduate student in the University of California in Berkeley.
"When I was a freshman in college I didn't have any idea what to do. Usually people who want to dedicate their lives to music; they start very young to go to the conservatory et cetera. I had only taken music classes since the age of twelve" said Cumming.
"I had to struggle with my parents; my father wanted me to pursue a career as a musician because I had done it for years; however, my mother wanted me to combine music with business," said Cumming.
"I finally decided to get a degree and then do what I wanted to do," he said.
"When I was a freshmen in college I took a music class in which a barely got a B; but then I took a Symphony class which I enjoyed very much," Cumming said.
"I didn't know I wanted to be a conductor, so I started studying music," he said.
It's difficult to be a conductor. "How do you become a conductor? How do I get an orchestra to practice?" he said.
He finally auditioned for the Yale School Orchestra. The second time he auditioned he got in. He didn't really like the Mr. Mueller, the conductor, but he was good. "He helped me how to study a score among other things," he said.
After three years of different jobs throughout the United States (Yale, Florida, California, Pittsburgh), he is now the conductor of the Hartford Symphony since 2001.