All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson talks with Bruce Coppock, managing director of the SPCO, about conductor Bobby McFerrin leaving The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. McFerrin took the SPCO job in 1994, signing on for a two year contract after visiting the orchestra to conduct. Those two years turned into seven, and now McFerrin's ready to pursue other projects.
The 50-year-old McFerrin is known worldwide as a jazz and pop vocalist, with a four-octave range and an uncanny ability to impersonate many instruments or sounds.