Where I like to Conduct, a magazine piece about me!

Classical Artists-QAmbassador Posted 2012-05-06 Glen Roven/Photo: Ahren R Foster Glen Roven-Conductor "I wish I had a more exotic answer to this question: Bangkok, St. Petersburg, Kuala Lumpur. But the fact is, I love performing in New York City, my home town. And more than anything I love performing at Carnegie Hall. Of course it’s one of the most acoustically perfect halls in the world: violins never sound as lush or flutes as sweet, that’s a given. But it’s more than the mere brilliant acoustics. It’s the history, it’s the legendary status, it’s just…well, it’s Carnegie Hall. Before my debut, I was fortunate enough to have performed in many of the world’s most prestigious venues; I even conducted four Presidential Inaugurations on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. So I was a bit blasé about the concert. But then I stepped on the stage and the whole Carnegie Hall legend washed over me like a tsunami -- I almost swooned. There I was, little me, standing on that stage, getting ready to conduct my Violin Concerto; there in front of me was that auditorium; there behind me was the legendary ornate quasi-rococo baroque/classical wall ornamentation. And there was the iconic conductor’s podium with its thick, gold-barred surround to prevent even the most athletic conductor (Lenny?) from tumbling into the audience. I regained my composer, said hello to the ghosts of Mahler and Tchaikovsky, and stepped up to the podium. So that’s what all the practicing was for!" Glen Roven, a four-time Emmy winner, has conducted The Israel Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The Munich Philharmonic, The Radio Luxembourg Orchestra, The American Symphony, as well as many others. Roven has produced for Julie Andrews, Kathleen Battle, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Aretha Franklin, Kenny G., Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Quincy Jones, Kermit the Frog, Patti LaBelle, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross to name a few. The conductor is also the co-founder of GPR Records, along with Peter Fitzgerald and Richard Cohen, issuing Broadway, Classical, Spoken Word and Children's Music.