By Shaun Ryan<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Symphony\u2019s newest assistant conductor, Na\u2019Zir 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Today, he recalls \u201cthe moment that changed everything for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
During one rehearsal, he was \u201csneaking pew to pew,\u201d working his way to the front to get closer to the sound.<\/p>\n
The band leader turned to him and asked, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018I want to be just like you; I want to be a leader,\u2019\u201d McFadden recalls. \u201cAnd he said, \u2018One day, I know you will.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As the band leader had inspired him, McFadden wanted to inspire others, and the man\u2019s words granted him a kind of certainty regarding the direction of his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought: OK, anything I do, I\u2019m going to be a leader; I know it\u2019s going to happen because he said that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d McFadden recalls.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was doing, but I knew that I felt closer to the music in that regard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Musical Mentors<\/strong><\/p>\n McFadden started playing clarinet in the fifth grade and worked hard to make music his life.<\/p>\n Two years spent at DePaul University in Chicago proved to be a major benchmark in his professional journey.<\/p>\n Here he studied with the late Cliff Colnot, director of orchestral studies, whose career included serving as conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cHis lessons and his network were transformative for my career and my journey,\u201d McFadden said. \u201cThe things that he was able to share and the people that he put me in contact with \u2014 I\u2019m very grateful for that connection.\u201d<\/p>\n Having worked with legendary conductor Pierre Boulez, Colnot had access to the man\u2019s catalogue of scores, which he was able to share with McFadden.<\/p>\n McFadden also studied with another legend, Maestro Riccardo Muti, director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very lucky to have worked with him,\u201d McFadden said.<\/p>\n When the pandemic hit, McFadden returned to Philadelphia, where he completed his studies at Temple University and earned his degree.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n In Jacksonville<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Despite so much success so early in life, he said, \u201cThere\u2019s so much for me to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were eager to make music, eager to hear the story I would tell, what that would be,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t find that often with a lot of orchestras.\u201d<\/p>\n He also appreciates the many opportunities offered by the symphony, opportunities that don\u2019t always exist elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have many different series: the classical series, the pops series \u2014 they even do some jazz and the 60-minute concerts,\u201d he said. \u201cI really thought the Jacksonville Symphony would allow me to use the things that I\u2019ve learned thus far and apply them to many different avenues of conducting.\u201d<\/p>\n McFadden is actually one of two assistant conductors for the symphony.<\/p>\n His first turn at conducting will be \u201cBewitched Broadway: Wicked, Phantom, Little Shop & More\u201d on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n Another performance he\u2019s especially looking forward to is \u201cJohn Williams\u2019 America,\u201d to be presented Jan. 9 as part of the Coffee Series.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn Williams is one of my favorite composers of all time, so getting the chance to conduct some of his music \u2014 it will be very exciting,\u201d McFadden said.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also looking forward to working with Music Director Courtney Lewis.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard great things about him,\u201d McFadden said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to learn from him and to watch him make music and to ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the performances, McFadden maintains a community-minded outlook.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can we be of service to the citizens of Jacksonville, and how can we use music to connect us all?\u201d he asked rhetorically.<\/p>\n In fact, the city itself remains an important part of McFadden\u2019s decision to come here.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like Jacksonville is a city that\u2019s in a renaissance period,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s 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. \u2026 I\u2019m excited to be here, and I can\u2019t wait to meet Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n An avid angler and jet skier, he said he\u2019s looking forward to visiting the beach \u2014 especially because he has spent so much of his life in colder climates: Philadelphia, New Jersey, Detroit, Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so happy to see palm trees at the airport!\u201d he said, laughing.<\/p>\n Music on the menu<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked to explain the art and science of conducting an orchestra, McFadden used a culinary analogy.<\/p>\n \u201cConducting is almost like being a chef,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are cookbooks, many different types of cookbooks. There are institutions where you can learn about cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n But, he said, a chef may cook an omelet seven days a week and each day the omelet might be slightly different.<\/p>\n \u201cIn conducting, it\u2019s the same,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a book. There are different schools of conducting. But at the end of the day, we all do what feels comfortable, and that\u2019s different for each person. The music that we make is different for each conductor. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the conductor\u2019s role is not to dictate to the musicians, but rather to trust them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe conductor is there to say, \u2018I realize we all have different ideas of how the music should be; let\u2019s concentrate on one big picture, and through that we can have our little details as individuals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Like all music-lovers, McFadden has his favorite composers: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Ludwig van Beethoven, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Richard Strauss.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the five composers that made me fall in love with classical music through their writing and their story,\u201d he said, adding with a grin, \u201cI would say Johns Williams is a close sixth.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jacksonville Symphony\u2019s 2025-26 season kicks off Sept. 12 with its traditional Community Concert. For more information or tickets, go to jaxsymphony.org.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Shaun Ryan Jacksonville Symphony\u2019s newest assistant conductor, Na\u2019Zir McFadden, has studied with some towering legends in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":201641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-201640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115150352942154944","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}