Are you curious about careers in science?

Hi, I'm Aikem, and today we're here with Kiki Kilburn.

Hi, Kiki.

Can you tell me where we are and what you do?

We are at Michigan State University in Murray Hall.

A conductor tries to create a space in which all of the musicians feel inspired.

We have four main sections to the orchestra.

There are the strings, the winds, the brass, and there's percussion and sometimes harp and piano.

We play classical music, contemporary music, film scores, hop music, operas, even sometimes jazz.

And how is STEM involved in your work?

When I study my scores I try to discover the underlying architecture of the music like instrumentation orchestration, color, texture.

And then I have to figure ou how to turn those into gestures.

The structure of the piece, length of the phrases, the rhythm underlying musical melodies and things like that.

Conducting seems so interesting and fun.

Can I try it?

So there's four beats per measure down in a you lift your hands, they are going to get ready and you're going to give up and you'r going to breathe on beat four.

How did you become interested in music and conducting?

When I was in high school, my high school music teacher let me conduct the ensemble, and I think that was the seminal moment for m to want to become a conductor.

Why are you so passionate about your career?

I think getting to make musi with a bunch of people who come from different walks of life and from all over the world, and bringing the black and white notes on the page to life, and to share it with an audience.

Yeah, you really made that happen, didn't you?

If you have a teache who has an orchestra or a band or a choir asked them, can I conduc and see if you really like it?

Kiki Kilburn conducted me through scores of STEM knowledge.

Explore your possibilities.