<p>Hello everyone</p>
<p>I'm new to this forum so introducing myself. I'm currently a highschool student attending ironiclly an "academic" school. I'm a pianist at a performing and teaching level and i play percussion in school. Throughout the years i've realized that my passion for music stems in conducting, not piano or percussion. I've been studying conducting for almost 4 years now and truly wish to be able to pursue a career in the field. Looking through the conservatories i found that very few namely: Curtis, Mannes, and possibly Sibelius offer conducting as an undergrad major. I'm wondering, because the field is so selective what are the chances of getting into these programs. I would greatly appreciate some advice on my current situation.
thanks</p>
<p>Check out Chapman University in Southern California. They offer conducting as an undergrad degree. My son has a friend in the music school there and she is very happy.</p>
<p>thanks for the tip. I just checked chapmans music department website. and the audition information states i will be auditioning on my primary insturment first. Which i'd assume is piano, would you know if they'd have some discretion on whether your're auditioning as a piano major or a conducting major? cause obviousily as i became more involved in conduting my piano technique needs quite a lot of polishing.</p>
<p>also i read the post on undergrad conducting started a few years ago, and i learned that the program at Curtis ins't solely an undergrad program, but one that anyone regardless of age can apply to. would anyone know any updated knowledge on how the conducting department at Curtis works?
thanks again</p>
<p>My advice would be to contact Chapman directly with questions like that. It looks like a solid program from what I can tell. They offer a lot of hands-on opportunities which I'm sure is often a problem for undergrads.</p>
<p>Have you explored the Conducting Institute summer program at Bard? I don't believe there is a minimum age limit, at least there isn't for the "conducting for composers" workshop.</p>
<p>Don't overlook the idea of going to a good music school for undergrad in composition or performance and then get into a grad school for conducting. Mastering a primary instrument or being a very strong composer, I believe, is a <em>must</em> in order to be taken seriously as a conductor. </p>
<p>My guess is the reason there are only a few undergrad programs in conducting are because to be a strong conductor one needs to first be a strong musician (whether it be composition or performance). Most undergrad programs will have 2 - 4 conducting class available and if you network, you should be able to get experience conducting in the meantime. Don't overlook working with a local children's choir, forming a pep-band, conducting high school pit orchestras, etc for gaining real world experience conducting. </p>
<p>Annika</p>
<p>While getting into a program would probably be feasible and not as selective as out in the real world (since very few people are interested in obtaining conservatory bachelor degrees in conducting), I question if such a direction would be one of practical value.</p>
<p>Like Annika, I also suggest holding off your conducting 'career' until Graduate school. </p>
<p>Conducting majors at the undergrad level are rare, even most top conservatory programs do not offer such teaching outside of elective classes or secondary study. Even in schools where conducting is offered as an undergrad major, I doubt how much practical experience those students are getting. They'll probably be spending most of their time taking lessons, and very few hours actually gaining experience, conducting real people. Compare this to a violin major who'll probably only spend a small portion of their total time in lessons, with the rest in chamber groups and orchestras. Conducting is truly a collaboration, and private lessons and private practice do not replace actual rehearsal time, which would probably be hard to obtain as an undergrad. It is hard enough assembling ensembles to serve as guinea pigs even for doctoral students sometimes.</p>
<p>The four years of undergrad would probably be more worthwhile and of better value if one would dedicate it towards being as good a possible rounded musician as possible, by either majoring in performance or composition, and participating in rehearsals/performances/readings; than they would if one only spent them taking baton-beating lessons. The amount of practicing and ensemble experience would serve to build the necessary ability, ear, sensativity, responsiveness, and discipline much better than merely studying and "practicing" conducting. Once one has this solid background instilled in them, an in-depth and focused Masters program in conducting would be a good stepping stone towards setting off their career.</p>
<p>Most world famous conductors today did not major in conducting during their formative undergrad years. They were likely pianists, composers, etc...</p>