A CONDUCTOR'S LEGACY Dr. William Patrick Foster: a man who overcame adversity, a man who worked exceptionally hard, a man who created a legacy. Dr. Foster's ties to Florida A&M University (FAMU) and the world he lived in are forever present because of his commitment to excellence in making the world-renowned FAMU Marching "100" Band a sound to remember. The Man Behind The Baton provides an in-depth look at the life and times of The Maestro, the Law, and the Legend.(TM)

The Man Behind The Baton presents the highpoints in the life of Dr. William Patrick Foster, the creator and director (for 52 years) of the world renowned Florida A&M University Marching "100" Band. This book is a "must read" book, a historical book about the life of the Maestro, the Law, and the Legend.

BEHIND THE BATON: AN AMERICAN ICON TALKS MUSIC

Maestro Mouse, the world's greatest conductor, makes an unfortunate discovery when he takes the stage to lead his orchestra—his baton is missing! The children in the concert hall rush to search for it in section of the orchestra, learning about each instrument as they go along. Will they find the lost baton in time for the concert to begin?

(Amadeus). To speak of Gerard Schwarz musician, conductor, festival organizer, gig hopper, educator, television personality, patron and proselytizer of the arts is to tell an exemplary American story. You could convey it exclusively in cliches, from his industrious emigre parents to his precocious childhood, from his ardor and diligence as a prodigy trumpeter to his meteoric rise as a conductor, from his unforeseen cross-country migration to the gradual construction of a world-class orchestra in a city formerly regarded as a cultural backwater, from the halls of New York City's High School of Performing Arts to the digital instructor's chair of the All-Star Orchestra's Khan Academy course series. You could simply recite the numbers: over 300 new works premiered, over 350 recordings in his discography, 14 GRAMMY nominations, 4 Emmy awards, six ASCAP Awards, and hundreds of other honors and laurels. You could dazzle and festoon and bewitch with talk of truth and beauty and the pursuit of ever-higher forms of artistic expression. Or you could tell it Jerry's way. Behind the Baton is a quintessentially Schwarzian memoir: intrepid, forthright, risible, subtly self-assured, and entirely unpretentious. It offers an intimate inside look at a man whose immense talent is rivaled only by his humility and work ethic a man who, for nearly fifty years, has strived to leave every orchestra and musician he touched better than when he found them. Whether you're a classical music aficionado, an orchestra initiate just cutting your teeth, or an everyday reader interested in the remarkable story behind an extraordinary man, Behind the Baton belongs on your nightstand.