Benjamin ZanderConductor of the Boston Philharmonic, the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Leadership Speaker. He is known around the world as both a guest conductor and a speaker on leadership -- and he's been known to do both in a single performance. He uses music to help people open their minds and create joyful harmonies that bring out the best in themselves and their colleagues.
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Meet Benjamin Zander
Benjamin Zander’s genius is his ability to elevate the performance of people and organizations beyond what they thought possible.
In a symphony—as in business—one person can’t do it all. Greatness comes when everyone gives his or her best. As a leader, it’s the conductor’s job to bring out the best in everyone. Benjamin Zander is legendary in the music world for inspiring greatness in his players. He does the same for audiences who hear him speak. He becomes a one-man tour de force as he plays piano and inspires people to engage their passions, avoid downward spiral thinking and focus on possibility. Audiences leave his presentations transformed—thinking about their challenges in a whole new way. Grammy-nominated Zander’s brilliant work has been featured in a full-length documentary for the BBC, as well as on ABC’s Nightline and CBS’ 60 Minutes. Benjamin Zander is the conductor of The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a guest conductor around the world. With London's famed Philharmonia Orchestra, he is recording the complete cycle of Mahler symphonies for Telarc, recordings which have been received with extraordinary critical acclaim and several awards. Their latest recording of Bruckner’s 5th Symphony was nominated for a 2010 Grammy, and has received critical acclaim both for the performance and Zander’s now famous full-length disc explaining the music for the lay listener. They recorded their next release, Mahler's 2nd Symphony, in January 2012 and it is scheduled for release later this year. In 1967, Zander joined the faculty at New England Conservatory, where he taught an interpretation class, conducted the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted the conservatory orchestras. For the past 28 years, he was the artistic director of the joint program between New England Conservatory's Preparatory School and The Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts in Natick, Massachusetts. Along with his partner, psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, Benjamin Zander is the co-author of The Art of Possibility, a book which discusses his insights into transformation and change as the conductor of a symphony orchestra. A METAPHOR FOR LEADERSHIP Benjamin Zander′s presentation takes an audience on a journey that offers a startling new perspective on leadership. Through stories, music and concepts it causes a radical shift in perception. This is not a speech, it is an experience! In this new model of leadership, the conductor sees his job as awakening possibility in others. The orchestra is a group of highly trained individuals poised to coalesce into an effective whole. Passion, creativity and the desire to contribute are basic human instincts to be released. World famous conductor, Benjamin Zander uses the metaphor of the orchestra and a life-time of experience conducting, coaching and teaching musicians to work his magic to overcome barriers to corporate productivity. This presentation sources fundamental changes in organizations. Whether standing before a mob of corporate bigwigs or a small music class of teens, Zander uses music and his own exuberantly expressive persona to deliver his main lesson: how to live life passionately and fully in the vast and liberating realm of possibility; how to become braver, more open to human connection, more capable of expressing our deepest, most creative impulses…….. What distinguishes Zander is his dedication to not only living this way himself but somehow viscerally infusing people with the same vital currents of enthusiasm, confidence and delight that course through his own being"… "If you want to liberate your soul, listen to Zander's Mahler. If you want to take your leadership skills to the next level, study the Art of Possibility with the Zanders. In his presentation Ben explodes traditional leadership thinking and takes leadership out of the closet. He blows the door WITH its hinges off that closet, and you can never go back after working with Ben. His leadership view is unconventional, irreverent and bold. Its impact is without boundaries. I have seen Ben Zander's teaching transform entire teams through Possibility in ways that are nothing short of magical with results that are nothing short of exemplary. He is a catalyst for Excellence." |
Interview Benjamin & Rosamund Zander: the art of Possibility |