American conductor Gerard Schwarz has led some of the world's finest orchestras for the past half-century. With 9 Emmy Awards, 14 Grammy nominations, and a catalogue of over 350 recordings, it's remarkable to consider that Gerard's illustrious journey began with a pivotal decision—leaving behind his first career as a trumpet soloist. Gerard reflects on this decision and early influences of his musical career including Szell and Bernstein, summers at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and a performance of Aida he saw at age 7. He discusses walking away from the trumpet to pursue a second career as a conductor, why he calls himself a musical traditionalist, and how the audience experience has changed over the years.Check out Gerard Schwarz on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Gerard Schwarz by Ben VanHouten.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.