Choral Conducting Workshop

John Rosser

Be inspired at a choral conducting workshop in Dunedin on 24 March.  John Rosser will present Giving Direction, a workshop on choral conducting, as part of the NZCF Association of Choral Directors (ACD) new programme of professional development. Apart from the training offered, this is an opportunity for conductors to meet an established conducting mentor, who will be able to provide advice and support.

The workshop will be held on Saturday 24 March from 9.30am to 5.00pm at the College of Education Music Dept.
Download the application form

Saturday 24 March Workshop
The workshop, which will have a very practical focus, is aimed at all conductors, regardless of experience or type of choir. It will include some of the following topics:

• Building a vocabulary of gestures to interpret a particular piece of music – phrasing, articulation, dynamics and expressive markings, entries, releases, etc.
• Vocal knowledge for the conductor – applied with reference to the workshop choirs’ music.
• Rehearsal techniques – efficient rehearsals in which choir members sing for almost all of the time and they absorb the musical style as they learn notes and rhythms.
• Hints on repertoire and programming.
• A forum on recruitment, auditioning and other issues.
• Two local choirs will be present at the workshop as the demonstration choirs, and conductors will work with them on the choir’s repertoire.

Sunday 25 March Mentoring Sessions
John will be available on the Sunday after the workshop for one-hour coaching sessions, at which matters of particular interest can be discussed.
Costs

• Workshops: ACD members - $55; NZCF Individual members - $70; Non-members - $85.  This includes tuition, lunch and teas. Half-day rates (no lunch) also available.
• Mentoring sessions (one-to-one or shared) - $55 (excl GST) per hour.

For more information or to register
Contact Di Lenihan (tel 027 698 8649) or Carole Randall (tel 027 295 6477)

A conductor is born

This is 3 year old Jonathan conducting to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. This piece was originally conducted by Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker, one of Jonathan's favorite conductors and orchestras. Jonathan's passion for classical music became apparent when he was only eight months old. Shortly after that he began conducting on his own.

The art of choral conducting

Choral conducting and choral music are sometimes recognized as something that belongs to the past or something that is part of a church service. Today, however, there is a wide variety of choral styles and interpretations to be heard all over the world – ranging from classical to quite contemporary.

See http://www.s12.si/kultura-umetnost/izven-okvirja/707-the-art-of-choral-conducting.html for a video that was filmed at the 5th International Competition of Young Choral Conductors in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2009.

Some of the interviewees featured:

Mrs. Anneliese Zeh, Union of European Choral Federations (AGEC)
Mr. Gábor Mózcar, Europa Cantat
Mrs. Sonja Greiner, Europa Cantat

A word of warning: The video is 40 minutes long and may be slow to download.

Punch Cartoon

'Stop! Stop! Stop! There's somebody at the back there not concentrating.'
Artist: Pont (Graham Laidler)
Published: 9 October 1935

Werner Andreas Albert conducts Carmina Burana

Wow, that was one intense rehearsal session this afternoon, but it was good! It made me think this is going to be one awesome concert. We still had a few stumbles, but I'm sure that will all be ironed out before the performance next Saturday.

Werner is clearly a conductor with a huge capacity to get the best out of the singers. As David would also say, it's really important that we keep our eyes on the conductor as much as possible; it's always the key to a great performance!

Here's a bio for Werner, in case you'd like to know more about this esteemed conductor:

Internationally acclaimed conductor Werner Andreas Albert has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in his native Germany, and for more than 25 years has been much beloved in Australasia. He was chief conductor of the ABC for 8 years and has conducted all 6 Symphony Australia orchestras. His extensive reputation is built on an extraordinary collection of recorded works, mastery of the German Romantic repertoire, and a finely developed skill to inspire and draw out the best in orchestras he conducts.

As a conductor, Werner has held a number of titled positions, including Chief Conductor of the Queensland Symphony, the North West German Philharmonic, the Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisbon) and the Nuremberg Symphony. He has enjoyed great success conducting tours to the United States, South America, the USSR, China, and most European countries. In recent years he has conducted in Beijing, and at Triphony Hall and Tokyo Opera City Concert in Japan with the New Japan Philharmonic and the Tokyo City Symphony Orchestra.

Werner has been recognized repeatedly by both the German Federal and Bavarian State Governments for his dedication to music. He holds the title of Member of the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Erste Klasse, the German equivalent of the British Order of Merit, as well as the Bayerischer Verdienstorden (Bavarian Order of Merit), which is limited to a restricted number of living members. Maestro Albert is Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland, Australia, and lives in Queensland and Nuremberg.

Principal Guest Conductor of the Southern Sinfonia since 2007, Werner pursues an active career, dividing his time between Australasia and Europe.