"The hottest property on the management-guru circuit."
- Tom Peters
Overview
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.
TED Talk
Testimonials
"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."
- Roseanna DeMaria, First Vice President, Leadership & Performance - Merrill Lynch
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“You leading our team into the adventure of exploring ourselves, killing our fears, understanding better our strengths and unlocking possibilities within ourselves, has really been an incredible journey transformed into beautiful music we all played in harmony. Thank you for opening this inspiring chapter of possibilities for us.”
- Dimitris Lois, Chief Executive Officer - Coca-Cola Hellenic
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“Each day I see many of our associates with eyes glazed over and morale in a downward spiral. Benjamin's message was inspiring, thought provoking and everyone I have spoken to since felt the same. It's easy to forget attitude and outlook are personal choice and those choices affect everyone that person interacts with. I know the town hall survey will come out eventually but I wanted to tell you how incredibly spot on you were with Benjamin as a keynote in both content and timeliness of the message.”
- Frank DiGiovanni, Vice President - Wyndham Destination Network
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Bio
Music was Benjamin Zander’s life at a very early age. When Zander was nine he was already composing and by twelve he was studying under Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst. He left home at the age of fifteen to study for five years with the great Spanish cellist Gaspar Cassado in Florence and at the State Academy in Cologne. After completing his degree at London University, he went to the United States on a Harkness Fellowship and has made his home in Boston ever since. There, as conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since its formation in 1978, and a guest conductor of numerous orchestras, he has become the centre of an intense, at times almost cult-like following. In his case, however, the followers are not starry-eyed acolytes, but rather some of the most well-informed musical intellectuals in America. For nearly thirty years, beginning with Michael Steinberg’s passionate advocacy on his behalf in the pages of the Boston Globe, critics and public have been united in their praise of Mr. Zander’s interpretations of the central repertory.
For 45 years he was on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, where his class on interpretation attracted students from all over the world, and he travels extensively giving masterclasses, conducting guest performances, and touring with his own recently formed Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He has established an international reputation as a guest conductor and has conducted the Israel Philharmonic for three consecutive years, and conducted orchestras as diverse as the Bournemouth Symphony, the Scottish and Irish National Orchestras, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Malaysian Symphony, the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared with the National Youth Orchestras of New Zealand, Australia and Venezuela.
Mr. Zander has a unique relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), with which he is currently recording a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies. Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, and Mahler’s First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Symphonies have been released thus far. Each of these recordings includes a full-length discussion disc with Benjamin Zander explaining the music. High Fidelity named the recording of Mahler’s Sixth as “the best classical recording of 2002.” The recording of Mahler’s Third was awarded the “Critics’ Choice” by the German Record Critics’ Award Association in 2004, and the recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony was nominated for a Grammy Award. Their recording of Bruckner’s 5th Symphony was nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance.
Benjamin Zander has traveled the world lecturing to organizations on leadership. He has appeared several times as a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was presented with the Crystal Award for “Outstanding Contributions in the Arts and International Relations.” The best-selling book, The Art of Possibility, co-authored with leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into seventeen languages.
In 2002, Mr. Zander was awarded the Caring Citizen of the Humanities Award by the International Council for Caring Communities at the United Nations. In 2007, he was awarded the Golden Door award by the International Institute of Boston for his “outstanding contribution to American society” as a United States citizen of foreign birth. In March of 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from New England Conservatory of Music, and in 2012 he was awarded Faculty Emeritus status at that institution.