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"I could see success in Roderick from the start," Redding said. "He's proven me right. Providing him with that French horn was a small step. Then all he needed was access to education and opportunity, and the Foundation provided him opportunities by sending him for additional studies abroad. He already had the passion and drive to determine his destiny." Finding that his musical vision couldn't be expressed through a single instrument, Cox gained a master's degree in conducting at Northwestern University in Illinois and connected with some of the most famous names in the field. He became a favorite at the Aspen Music Festival and studied in Aspen with Robert Spano at the American Academy of Conducting. This August, before the film's local debut at the Macon Film Festival, Conducting Life will be shown for the second time in Aspen, this time coinciding with Cox conducting the Aspen Chamber Orchestra during the Aspen Music Festival. Also performing at the festival, and in residence for a portion of it, will be fellow Macon native and violin virtuoso, Robert McDuffie. McDuffie said he's been aware of Cox for some time and will bring him home to conduct the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra to open its second season in October. "Roderick has been on my front burner since the creation of the Macon-Mercer Symphony," McDuffie said. "He has become not just a conductor but such a significant conductor. It's insulting to say he's significant because he's a conductor of color because he's simply a good – a very good – conductor. But he's overcome challenges. I and many others admire him, ... and we're both very proud to be from Macon." • • • A CONDUCTOR AT HIS PODIUM REFLECTS YEARS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, PLUS COUNTLESS HOURS IN SOLITUDE, CREATING A PERSONAL VISION FOR A PIECE AND HOW TO LEAD THROUGH A GESTURE AND BATON. "Take the idea of an actor preparing to portray a character before filming…They would spend a lot of time dissecting and getting to know and understand the character. A conductor spends time getting to know the character of the score, reading it over and over, dissecting and breaking it apart, putting it back together. You let its setting and history speak to you." – Roderick Cox • • • C ox said a thoughtful conductor will spend months, even years, with a piece of music. Though it may be performed, he believes the process is never complete. "It's a huge mistake to think you're done and that the music has nothing more to say to you or to an audience," he said. "It always does. You can't just take a work off the shelf and say, 'I've done that before.' The more time you spend with a piece, the more it grows and evolves and you bring something different to the audience and orchestra… Because you change and are a different person over time, that informs your view and ability to interpret a piece. It always comes back to the fact making music is a very human thing." Cox said despite stereotypes of the temperamental conductor, he's found the work requires strength and discipline, yes, but also humility and vulnerability. "You have to know there's always more to be learned and that learning comes through others and through life's ordinary experiences," he said. "We have to experience life if we're to understand and convey the life, the humanness and emotion of music. And it's less stressful not having to walk into a rehearsal hall thinking you know everything or be the smartest person in the room. It's a collaboration." Cox said there is a standard vocabulary of gestures to which each conductor applies his own personality. As for batons, in his short career, he has become a collector. "I guess I'm quite obsessed with finding the baton that fits me perfectly," he said. "I may find one that feels great and works, but then feel I need a different weight, balance or sense of freedom from it as a flowing part of myself. I guess I have 10 or 12." When it comes to his own sentiments about race and his journey as a conductor, it must be acknowledged that, first, becoming a symphonic conductor is a daunting proposition 50 maconmagazine.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022