The author shares his experiences of interpretation under the world's finest conductors during a career of 36 years with the San Francisco Symphony. This one of a kind exploration includes excerpts from 14 major works for band and orchestra, translations of foreign musical terms, an examination of percussion notation and more.  Other topics covered include: interpretation of clues provided by composers in both scores and parts; development of musicality by the expansion of dynamics, phrasing, and articulations; an analysis of inconsistencies in composing for percussion; the exploration of interpretative skills for creating great performances.  Paper, 40 p.