Conducting has always fascinated me. The art of conducting combines a wide variety of skills and knowledge taken from the study of music and from many life experience that might seem unrelated to our art form.
The great conductors are outstanding musicians, motivators, music historians, educators, accompanists, coaches, psychologists and leaders. One must work hard throughout life to attain a high level of competence in all of these areas if one is to be true to their chosen profession. This level of security and maturity allows the conductor to arrive at, and communicate an interpretation that aims to realize the composer's original intentions. We are museum curators who present great works of art to the listeners in our concert halls. We have taken up the task of re-creating what has been left for us. We owe it to composers of the past and the present to leave our egos aside and strive for the highest artistic standard in bringing to life works of art.
I don't believe that a conducting career is for everyone....as a matter of fact, it is for very few. If one is motivated, talented, and has a true thirst for knowledge and understanding of every aspect of the profession, then it may be a career to pursue.
I've frequently been approached by students who say "I want to be an orchestral conductor". To that I answer the following as a brief introduction on how to get started. There is a lot of work that can be done on your own. No matter how much you study and for how long, there will always be more work to be done.
1 - Learn repertoire: Every night of the week listen to one major orchestral works with the score in front of you. Start with the Baroque period. Before you even open the score, read what you can about the composer and the work itself.
2 - Read "The Study of Orchestration" by Samuel Adler. When you're done, read it again.
3 - Practice your instrument and continue performing. Some may disagree with me but I believe you will be at a distinct advantage on the podium when you are able to transmit musical intentions verbally and non-verbally because you yourself are performer.
4 - Learn everything you can about string playing. Strings play a bulk of the written pitches in orchestral music - you must know how to relate to the string players...you must know how to elicit from them any tone color you want. What you say and how you move has a direct impact on the quality of sound coming from every player. Know all your sections but put some extra effort into your understanding of the strings.
5 - Remain active physically - this profession take great energy and enthusiasm. Having constant physical and mental energy is critical for conductors. You are tasked with leading others and with that comes great energy and enthusiasm. Take care of yourself off the podium.
You may have noticed that I have never mentioned practicing physical movement or conducting patterns. You can look as beautiful as you want on the podium and have the most lovely gestures, but it doesn't matter if there is no musical substance and detailed knowledge behind it all. That being said, there is still a need to develop a variety of clear and musical gestures that will help visually represent character and style in music to the fullest.