By Shaun Ryan
Jacksonville Symphony’s newest assistant conductor, Na’Zir McFadden, has studied with some towering legends in the field, but it was a comment by the band leader at his boyhood church that perhaps had the greatest impact on his career.
McFadden was born in Philadelphia to a musical family and as a boy would attend band and chorus rehearsals at his church after school. Other children would sit in the back and do their homework while their parents rehearsed, but McFadden had other ideas. He completed his homework beforehand so that he could immerse himself in the making of music.
Today, he recalls “the moment that changed everything for me.”
During one rehearsal, he was “sneaking pew to pew,” working his way to the front to get closer to the sound.
The band leader turned to him and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I said, ‘I want to be just like you; I want to be a leader,’” McFadden recalls. “And he said, ‘One day, I know you will.’”
As the band leader had inspired him, McFadden wanted to inspire others, and the man’s words granted him a kind of certainty regarding the direction of his life.
“I thought: OK, anything I do, I’m going to be a leader; I know it’s going to happen because he said that’s going to happen,” McFadden recalls.
At home, he would snap apart plastic clothing hangers to make his own ersatz conductor wands and wave his hands around while playing musical recordings.
“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew that I felt closer to the music in that regard,” he said.
Musical Mentors
McFadden started playing clarinet in the fifth grade and worked hard to make music his life.
Two years spent at DePaul University in Chicago proved to be a major benchmark in his professional journey.
Here he studied with the late Cliff Colnot, director of orchestral studies, whose career included serving as conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
“His lessons and his network were transformative for my career and my journey,” McFadden said. “The things that he was able to share and the people that he put me in contact with — I’m very grateful for that connection.”
Having worked with legendary conductor Pierre Boulez, Colnot had access to the man’s catalogue of scores, which he was able to share with McFadden.
McFadden also studied with another legend, Maestro Riccardo Muti, director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
“I was very lucky to have worked with him,” McFadden said.
When the pandemic hit, McFadden returned to Philadelphia, where he completed his studies at Temple University and earned his degree.
He went on to be appointed the inaugural apprentice conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet and won a clarinet position with the U.S. Navy Band.
But one week before he was to go to boot camp, McFadden was named to an assistant conducting position with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he has been honing his skills during the past three years.
In Jacksonville
At just 25 years old, McFadden has proven himself again and again, having debuts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and more.
Despite so much success so early in life, he said, “There’s so much for me to learn.”
Auditioning with the Jacksonville Symphony, he immediately recognized the commitment and focus of the musicians, about whom he had heard many great things. He had their attention from the moment he stepped onto the stage.
“They were eager to make music, eager to hear the story I would tell, what that would be,” he said. “You don’t find that often with a lot of orchestras.”
He also appreciates the many opportunities offered by the symphony, opportunities that don’t always exist elsewhere.
“You have many different series: the classical series, the pops series — they even do some jazz and the 60-minute concerts,” he said. “I really thought the Jacksonville Symphony would allow me to use the things that I’ve learned thus far and apply them to many different avenues of conducting.”
McFadden is actually one of two assistant conductors for the symphony.
His first turn at conducting will be “Bewitched Broadway: Wicked, Phantom, Little Shop & More” on Oct. 24.
Another performance he’s especially looking forward to is “John Williams’ America,” to be presented Jan. 9 as part of the Coffee Series.
“John Williams is one of my favorite composers of all time, so getting the chance to conduct some of his music — it will be very exciting,” McFadden said.
He’s also looking forward to working with Music Director Courtney Lewis.
“I’ve heard great things about him,” McFadden said. “I’m excited to learn from him and to watch him make music and to ask questions.”
Beyond the performances, McFadden maintains a community-minded outlook.
“How can we be of service to the citizens of Jacksonville, and how can we use music to connect us all?” he asked rhetorically.
In fact, the city itself remains an important part of McFadden’s decision to come here.
“I feel like Jacksonville is a city that’s in a renaissance period,” he said. “There’s so much happening in this moment. The city is really blossoming, and people are starting to take notice. I want to be a part of that. … I’m excited to be here, and I can’t wait to meet Jacksonville.”
An avid angler and jet skier, he said he’s looking forward to visiting the beach — especially because he has spent so much of his life in colder climates: Philadelphia, New Jersey, Detroit, Chicago.
“I was so happy to see palm trees at the airport!” he said, laughing.
Music on the menu
Asked to explain the art and science of conducting an orchestra, McFadden used a culinary analogy.
“Conducting is almost like being a chef,” he said. “There are cookbooks, many different types of cookbooks. There are institutions where you can learn about cooking.”
But, he said, a chef may cook an omelet seven days a week and each day the omelet might be slightly different.
“In conducting, it’s the same,” he said. “There is a book. There are different schools of conducting. But at the end of the day, we all do what feels comfortable, and that’s different for each person. The music that we make is different for each conductor. It’s different for the orchestra, as well. You can put the same conductor, the same piece of music at the same time of day with a different orchestra for seven days a week and it will be different each time.”
He said the conductor’s role is not to dictate to the musicians, but rather to trust them.
“The conductor is there to say, ‘I realize we all have different ideas of how the music should be; let’s concentrate on one big picture, and through that we can have our little details as individuals,” he said.
Like all music-lovers, McFadden has his favorite composers: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Ludwig van Beethoven, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Richard Strauss.
“These are the five composers that made me fall in love with classical music through their writing and their story,” he said, adding with a grin, “I would say Johns Williams is a close sixth.”
The Jacksonville Symphony’s 2025-26 season kicks off Sept. 12 with its traditional Community Concert. For more information or tickets, go to jaxsymphony.org.