More often than not, the job attracts an eccentric personality, to say the least (and the kindest).

It wouldn't be terribly uncommon to find that your typical conductor might imagine that the general public is as interested as he is in the finer details of a Bach three-part counterpoint. In other words, the "common touch" is not an attribute that we normally associate with baton-wielding types.

Then there's David Brophy, whose appointment to the post of principal conductor to the RTA Concert Orchestra was announced in mid-January. A more refreshingly ordinary man you couldn't find if you had randomly picked him out of a line up in the local pub.

Joining the Greenfield Boy Singers at the age of 11 was David Brophy's first taste of music.

"There was no music in my family really but my parents suggested after mass one day that I audition for this choir, probably to get me off the street more than anything." After seeing the choir's accompanist playing the theme from Chariots of Fire, he pestered his parents for piano lessons. "All I wanted to do was play 'Chariots of Fire' and all the popular music. I was a big Madness fan. I didn't know what classical music was so when I started lessons, as far as I knew, I was just learning to play the piano. I was the only one in my class in school learning piano so I got slagged off a lot for it."

Having eventually chosen the path of music rather than his first love, art, he took a year out after school and practised piano six hours a day in order to gain a place on the BMus in the College of Music, Dublin, shortly to be affiliated with DIT.

"I auditioned and was accepted but I was informed shortly afterwards that I couldn't join the degree because my academic record wasn't good enough. I was in the C class in school, you see, and we were put into art class.

Only the A class did music. So I went back to school and repeated my Leaving Cert."

His resumAcopyright won't be questioned again, with the vast experience of professional conducting he now has under his belt and, of course, this hugely important position in RTA Music.

With no degree of fawning, he is excited about the task ahead.

"On paper, the orchestra's schedule is exhilarating; it's a phenomenon really, in that there are constant gear changes in the programmes. The orchestra will bring me along to an extent but I do think that we can also bring the audience along on this rollercoaster ride, with subscriptions and seasons' brochures, etc. The relationship between audience and performer is at an all-time low and we have to address this."

Brophy's appreciation of all kinds of music and "the broad way in which music operates" is the ideal tool for a man in his position and with the plans he has in mind for the orchestra. "I immersed myself in classical music from college until I turned 30 but I've broadened my musical tastes again and gone back to rock. Now I'm starting to see all the commonalities between all musics. I've said to myself lately 'one day I'm going to be dead' so I don't want to cut myself off from any kind of music."

There you have it: David Brophy - conductor, husband to his college sweetheart, father of one (soon to be two), owner of a Black Eyed Peas album, Guinness drinker and all round normal Dub.

He even admits to being mortal, which is more than a lot of conductors even believe, never mind admit to.