"There followed an evening of pure inspiration from Denise Ham of the RAM. Can do - can teach. We were in the presence of a conductor whose body movement expresses every nuance of musical feeling - and who is also a first-class analyst. Like all the best teachers, Denise, through her subject, was simply teaching music. I was proud to be able to take one of my senior students...and thrilled that we should both come away better musicians".

News & Views - Autumn 1998

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"Thank you so much for your session at the WMS training last month. It was the highlight of the week. It extended the skills of our more experienced staff without being over the heads of the less experienced. Several members of staff immediately came to me to say what a brilliant day it had been.

"Denise gave encouragement and direction and each conductor had something new to work on...she was an inspiration to us all"

Shelagh Reid

"Ham's fresh approach and good humour ensured that conducting students of all ages and levels of experience received positive suggestions of ways to improve their technique"

"I am sure that not only the conducting students but all players and onlookers will have taken away with them a nugget or two of expert advice which they can apply to their own musical ensembles in the coming year, not to mention a fresh burst of encouragement gleaned from Ham's inspired but practical and down-to-earth approach"

Robert Webb

"Following the AGM on 22 September, ESTA was treated to a three-hour workshop (complete with 10-piece string orchestra) by one of Europe's most sought-after conducting teachers, Denise Ham...

Denise gave marvellous insights into character and phrasing as she guided each of the six volunteer conductors through their chosen piece, and in her own demonstrations she shaped the music masterfully.

The workshop was rounded off by a brief technique session for all present, and then a few words of advice which none of us who conduct ensembles should ignore. In all, an invaluable afternoon, and surely one worth repeating in the future.

Ben Mason

"At Cheltenham Town Hall, Denise Ham conducted some 80 of the best local players so that they became one enthralling instrument able to move hearts."

William Neve, Gloucestershire Echo

"Nothing could have been more professional than the superb string playing from these mature but still youthful players...Conductor Denise Ham knew how to let the music breathe without losing control of phrasing and dynamics."

Ronald Kay, Gloucestershire Echo

"Dazzling Debut for Youth Orchestra ... under her direction the strings were especially impressive - well-balanced, nicely focused and always perfectly in tune. Soloists from woodwind, percussion and brass played with flair and confidence."

Alan Cooper, Aberdeen Press and Journal

"Saturday's performance of my Concertantino was by a long way the best I have had. Your tempi were exactly right, and so was the spirit of the whole thing...Thank you for all you did to bring it all to life so marvellously."

Mary Chandler, Composer - personal letter

Robin Newton, Classical Music, July 2004

"This video (a revised and improved version of the first edition) is essential watching for anyone who seriously wants to convey musical intention through gesture. In it she shows, most importantly, how to make the sound that is in your imagination, and not just the sound "that your arm happens to dictate"... One of the delights of this video is the juxtaposition of the wrong and the right ways. I particularly enjoyed the incorrect use of the left hand in the example from Schubert 9! Here is a wonderful mimicry of bad conducting... Denise Ham is an excellent teacher of music, but she is also able to explain technique...She can talk us through a piece as she conducts, telling us exactly which part of the body is conveying the changes in the music. I recommend this video with great enthusiasm, and not only for conductors. All musicians could benefit from her understanding of the body in music and could increase their musicianship by discovering how the music should speak away from their instrument"

News & Views, Summer 2004