Well, I started conducting kind of by accident. I wanted to give myself a special birthday present for my fortieth birthday, and I was living in San Francisco at the time and I started attending some of the concerts and then simply dropping hints.

McFerrin describes his move into conducting not as a linear career plan but as an opportunistic, self-motivated leap. Framing it as a “birthday present” emphasizes curiosity and play: he treats a new musical role as something to be tried for personal growth rather than for prestige. The detail of attending concerts in San Francisco and “dropping hints” suggests an informal, relationship-driven pathway into classical institutions—showing how artistic careers can pivot through proximity, initiative, and social tact. More broadly, the quote underscores McFerrin’s ethos of improvisation and experimentation: he follows interest, places himself in the right rooms, and lets a new identity emerge from small, practical steps.