The conducting program prepares students who intend to pursue a profession in conducting or continue their education. Conducting students gain hands-on experience in leadership and management of rehearsals and performances in both school and professional settings. 

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Program-Specific Course and Non-Course Requirements by Year

Specific requirements for technical exams, final juries, studio and solo recitals, and 10-minute concerts for orchestral conducting students can be found in the Repertoire Requirements manual. Pre-screening and live audition requirements can be found on the school website. In addition to the core curriculum, orchestral conducting students have the following requirements: 

 

• Private Lessons and Year 1 Evaluations

  • In Year 1, Orchestral Conducting students will take their first two terms of private lessons in Choral Conducting. From Year 2, private lessons will switch to Orchestral Conducting. 

  • Students should adhere to the repertoire guidelines for Choral Conducting students for their Year 1 technical exam, final jury, 10-minute concert, and studio recital. 

 

• Score Reading

  • In Year 1, students will enroll in two terms of Score Reading to develop and reinforce their ability to read choral and orchestral music in all clefs and apply these skills to the process of reading transposing instruments in orchestral scores. 

 

• Instrumentation

  • In Year 2, students will enroll in two terms of Instrumentation where they will develop their understanding of all instruments in the orchestra and how to score for both small and larger combinations of instruments.

 

• Analysis

  • In Years 2 and 3, students will enroll in four terms of Analysis where they will discuss the musical forms, harmony, and counterpoint of various eras. These courses will focus on analyzing, rather than writing, music from each area. 

 

• Orchestration

  • In Years 3 and 4, students will enroll in four terms of Orchestration to study the orchestrational techniques and styles of various eras and apply the various elements of orchestration to scoring projects for ensembles of various sizes. 

 

• Polyphony 

  • In Year 4, students will enroll in two terms of Polyphony which focuses primarily on the writing of counterpoints in certain styles and will also examine these styles from a historical and analytical perspective.