On Conducting Pedagogy, Part I
Today’s column is the first of a multi-part series of columns on conductor education in colleges and universities in the United States. I have spent the last nine years of my life affiliated with colleges and universities, in or around their music departments, and in that time, I have encountered a number of things that strike me as either odd or counterintuitive about American conductor training programs.
First, it should be noted that the way we train wind conductors seems to be fundamentally different than the way orchestral conductors cut their teeth, a direct result of the reality that wind bands are still primarily supported by academia and have no widespread professional outlet of their own. If a student wants to conduct winds for a living, they can safely assume that they will wind up working at a secondary school or college/university. Most students who study wind conducting in college, therefore, are trained to become classroom teachers first and musical scholars, leaders and ambassadors second.
Conductor training in the European tradition, however, places a premium on field experience.The relative abundance of community ensembles, combined with a wide range of opera houses and regional orchestras, allows for young conductors to be thrown into conducting on a large scale early in their careers. They also learn from this type of experience that shaping an artistically viable and compelling musical experience is their primary concern, rather than having to occupy themselves with the nuances of things like budgeting, IEPs and block scheduling.
This is not acceptable—it is a disservice to the musicians being conducted and the music itself. Some enterprising students realize early on that they must create their own conducting opportunities, usually by organizing chamber ensembles of their peers and preparing works for independent performance. This is, of course, a perfect opportunity for the cooperation of student conductors and student composers, who are perpetually looking for players to perform their works. I feel very strongly that schools should do more to encourage this sort of cooperation—a good start would be to take a more active role in organizing concerts of works by young composers featuring student conductors and performers.
Next time, we will begin to dig into the real meat-and-potatoes of conductor training with some thoughts on the pedagogy of physical technique.
First, it should be noted that the way we train wind conductors seems to be fundamentally different than the way orchestral conductors cut their teeth, a direct result of the reality that wind bands are still primarily supported by academia and have no widespread professional outlet of their own. If a student wants to conduct winds for a living, they can safely assume that they will wind up working at a secondary school or college/university. Most students who study wind conducting in college, therefore, are trained to become classroom teachers first and musical scholars, leaders and ambassadors second.
Conductor training in the European tradition, however, places a premium on field experience.The relative abundance of community ensembles, combined with a wide range of opera houses and regional orchestras, allows for young conductors to be thrown into conducting on a large scale early in their careers. They also learn from this type of experience that shaping an artistically viable and compelling musical experience is their primary concern, rather than having to occupy themselves with the nuances of things like budgeting, IEPs and block scheduling.
This is not acceptable—it is a disservice to the musicians being conducted and the music itself. Some enterprising students realize early on that they must create their own conducting opportunities, usually by organizing chamber ensembles of their peers and preparing works for independent performance. This is, of course, a perfect opportunity for the cooperation of student conductors and student composers, who are perpetually looking for players to perform their works. I feel very strongly that schools should do more to encourage this sort of cooperation—a good start would be to take a more active role in organizing concerts of works by young composers featuring student conductors and performers.
Next time, we will begin to dig into the real meat-and-potatoes of conductor training with some thoughts on the pedagogy of physical technique.
posted by Qualario at 11:34 AM
2 Comments:
Blogger apparently does not like changing fonts today...I've tried to alter this post about six different ways to make the fonts match, with no luck. Alas!
I agree...universities need to allow for students to have more podium time during college. When one masters an instrument, they practice that instrument daily. To learn to conduct, one must practice with a live ensemble. I believe that this is imperative. I think that universities need to have more student-led ensembles as a part of their music curriculum. To put every conducting student in front of the University Orchestra, Chorus, or Wind Ensemble is not practical. However, universities need to encourage more student-led ensembles for conductors to gain some practical experience.
However, the primary purpose of a bachelor's degree is that it is an INTRODUCTION to the field. It gives you enough qualification to get out into the field to learn the craft. A Master's degree is where the real focus of one's professional music career is brought into light. Most graduate conducting programs offer much podium time under the expert guidance of the professors. During a undergraduate degree, many other coursework must be done (general education), but a master's or doctoral student can concentrate on their own specific area of choice when pursuing graduate studies.
I have just begun my own blog called "There's More To It Than Waving a Stick": Issues Facing Instrumental and Choral Conductors. Please feel free to read my posts as well.
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