Conductors benefit from more than 300 years of combined experience
The esteemed Conductors Institute of South Carolina, in its 31st year, is on the must-do list for both aspiring and experienced conductors. Students of the summer institute come to the University of South Carolina from around the U.S. and abroad to receive instruction from eminent conductors and composers with vast experience in the commercial, academic and professional worlds of music.
The annual institute, directed by Dr. Donald Portnoy, takes place from June 5 through 18, 2016, at the Koger Center for the Arts on the University of South Carolina campus. Participants can opt for the 10-day Discovery Program, designed for conductors with limited conducting experience who want to improve their conducting skills, or the 15-day Institute for Fellows and Associates, designed for conductors with moderate to advanced conducting skills.
Participants have an exceptional opportunity to work directly with composers whose works have been commissioned and performed by many of the major American and European orchestras and international ensembles. Among this summer’s distinguished guest faculty are Maurice Peress, former assistant conductor to the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein; and Paul Vermel, the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Koussevitsky Memorial Award for the outstanding conductor at Tanglewood. Also on the faculty are esteemed conductors and composers including Victoria Bond (composer/conductor), Samuel Jones (composer), Avner Dorman (composer), Peter Jaffe (conductor) Diane Wittry (conductor) and Neil Casey (conductor).
Students of the institute have individual daily podium time conducting professional musicians and focus on enhancing skills to achieve a greater command of their orchestral forces. Veteran conductors share their knowledge of the competitive field of conducting and offer constructive feedback. An evening lecture series delivers sessions in score study and other topics necessary in today’s job market.
See institute details, cost and registration
Observe conductor training
The community can get a first-hand view of the skills and complexities of effective conducting. Monday through Saturday during the Institute, the public is invited to observe conductor training at the Koger Center for the Arts. Open to the public, free of charge.
Schedule
June 6–18, Monday through Saturday
9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (no sessions held Sunday, June 12)
Lecture with composer/conductor at 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. (Koger stage)
June 6–9 String Orchestra Repertoire (session I)
Tchaikovsky - Serenade
Janácek - Idyll
Frank Bridge - Suite for String Orchestra
Avner Dorman - Concerto Grosso
June 10–14 Chamber Orchestra Repertoire (session II)
Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 4 in A Major, op. 90 (Italian)
Wagner - Siegfried Idyll
Rossini - Overture to The Barber of Seville
Victoria Bond - Bridges
June 15–18 Symphony Orchestra Repertoire (session III)
Beethoven - Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, op. 60
Weber - Overture to Der Freischutz
Johann Strauss, Jr. - Overture to Die Fledermaus
Samuel Jones - Janus