John talks about leaving the army and working in construction- designing buildings before studying music at New England Conservatory and John discusses details of his teaching methods

John and Fred discuss the development of the Composition Department at Berklee

John discusses fond memories of performances of his own music written with specific players in mind.

John talks about his favorite conductor, Serge Koussevitzky, and discusses strengths of other Boston Symphony conductors

John discusses the BSO and how he likes its current conductor, James Levine.

John warns that career opportunities shouldn't be a motivation for a serious composer, that there's no money in it. He also discusses the use of computers for orchestral compositions.