Conductor

In music, leader of a choir of singers or instrumentalists, whose duty it is to indicate the time of the music, keep the various parts together, give the signal for the entrances of parts or instruments, suggest nuances of expre ion and the like. He stands in front of the players facing them, and guides them with a baton and his eyes; this is a comparatively late innovation. In the last century he sat at the harpsichord and beat time only at intervals. As a rule dance orchestra conductors still face the audience, beat time with a violin bow, and occasionally play the violin. At the Paris Grand Opera the violin bow has not yet been replaced by the baton.