ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests a sequence that may give conducting students a new context for approaching the podium. It presents a few options for them to consider when they first address the ensemble, the audience and the music. Hopefully, they will find some relevant aspects in this approach that will make it easier for them to move beyond their default. Through the lens of a performance, many of these suggestions are applicable to classroom and rehearsal settings as well. The conducting students' actions might then shift to accepting their responsibility to the music and the performance, and finally committing their entire being to the task at hand—communicating the specificity of their musical intention. There is a difference between being excited about an upcoming performance and nervous tension. While it is quite natural to be excited, a potential problem emerges when that excitement morphs into tension.
