Grammy nominated conductor ALASTAIR WILLIS currently serves as the Music Director for the South Bend Symphony Orchestra in South Bend, IN. Alastair has guest conducted major orchestras around the world in Chicago, Philadelphia, the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Herford Germany, Hong Kong & Bejing China.

What kind of skill does it take to lead a group of 60+ diverse musicians in the spontaneous creation of orchestral music (perhaps the most collaborative art on the planet), live and in front of a concert hall filled with an audience? Well, it takes passion, courage, daring, musicianship, plenty of skill and, as it turns out, the ability to "make it work" in the moment.

Hear Alastair's story and how all of these skills play out in his life and work in this episode of Improvisationally Speaking the podcast.