Tag Archives: Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra

  As the conductor of the , the most common question receives is whether or not he has ever actually played an instrument. He laughs at the notion of being able to lead a collective of world-class musicians without having some working musical knowledge. “It’s kind of like asking a football coach if they’ve ever played football. If you didn’t, people wouldn’t have much reason to listen to you,” he says. “I was a pianist by training and a clarinetist for orchestra, but I was always fascinated by the process of assembly. The fact that you could put 75, 100 …