What people are saying

Music is for everyone!

Conducting gets under your skin
"It was the most beautiful moment of my life! I often still dream about it."

- Darian Krämer, age 11

Conducting prepares you for life's challenges
"There is hardly any difference between a rehearsal in front of the orchestra or a job interview. The first few seconds you step on the podium (or walk through the door of an office) make the difference. Conducting teaches you that you can win everything or lose everything in seconds. That's how you learn to avoid defeat."

- Markus Merkel,
Chief Conductor of the former Junge Philharmonie Berlin

Conducting means jumping over your shadow
"At first it's already hard when 60 people stare at you expectantly! After a short time, however, you feel carried along by the crowd and you ride it like you're riding a wave..."

- Chiara Brödemann, age 18

Conducting knows no losers, only winners
"The cool thing about conducting is: when a musician makes a mistake, the audience usually gets it. If I make a mistake as a conductor, no one needs to notice!"
If I mess up in gym class, the whole team loses, then I'm the stupid one..."

- Luca Lämmerhardt, age 10

Learning more about music per se through conducting
"It's just incredible to see how quickly children get into some under appreciated music theory topics like music notation or history as soon as they recognise a personal connection to it..."

- Dr. Alexander Saier, founder of "Jugend dirigiert"

Conducting means expressing yourself clearly
"You have to say exactly what you want in front of the orchestra, otherwise there will be chaos..."

- Nele Zabel, age 16