Playing with Fire: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting is a documentary featuring Apollo’s Fire and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. This UMS digital presentation explores the art of conducting, and in particular follows the Grammy award winning conductor Jeannette Sorrell. Sorrell was told by the Julliard School and the Cleveland Orchestra that no one will hire a woman conductor, but she persevered. She formed her own Baroque orchestra, called Apollo’s Fire, which quickly rose to fame and won awards. In the film, we watch her work and teach at music festivals, as well as rehearse with Grammy winning orchestras.
I am excited to watch this because I love to watch women rise beyond those who tell her no or deny her, and achieve success. Also, I know nothing about conducting and I love to watch orchestras, so I think this will be a really interesting documentary!
It is available through UMS Digital Presentations, starting on March 12: https://ums.org/performance/playing-with-fire-jeannette-sorrell-and-the-mysteries-of-conducting/
