Conducting Track

As a conductor seeking the experience of working and learning in a chamber ensemble setting, you will establish and develop meaningful and enduring artistic connections under the guidance of a renowned faculty.

Fourteen applicants will be selected into the conducting track. Tony Thornton and Simon Carrington will be the masterclass clinicians. Each conductor will receive approximately 3 hours of podium time during the workshop! Those at the beginning stages of conducting study are welcome to audit. However, please note that the masterclasses are intended for those who have already completed undergraduate conducting studies or for those with conducting/teaching experience.

To apply for a conducting position, applicants must submit a resume or CV and a sample of their conducting and singing via YouTube link. The conducting sample should contain both rehearsal footage and at least one piece conducted in concert (a non-stop performance of a rehearsal piece is also acceptable), showing the conductor as the focal point. The video should not exceed 20 minutes. The vocal selection should include one solo piece. A folk song, hymn tune, art song, or operatic selections are acceptable. 

The conducting faculty will assign each conductor a piece to conduct in the workshop concert. The workshop ensemble will include eight members of the Oklahoma State University Concert Chorale, the fourteen selected conductors, and twenty-four auditioned singers from around the world. 

Private conducting sessions with Simon Carrington will also be available to conductors for an additional fee. All masterclass sessions and private conducting classes with Simon will be filmed. Conductors and ensemble singers may also schedule a private voice lesson with Jamie-Rose Guarrine for an additional fee. 

Mini-Intensive: A Personal Approach to Choral Score Preparation

Prior to the beginning of the masterclasses, Simon Carrington will present this Mini-Intensive. Limited to 25 participants.

Description: “In this program, I will demonstrate and discuss my score preparation methods, which follow no rules but which examine ways to sharpen aural skills, hear the essence of the music with the inner ear, and tease out ways to bring the composer’s rhetoric to life. While I am concerned about developing a choir’s beauty of tone and purity of intonation, I will spend an equal amount of time refining ideas on how to ensure that the singing touches the hearts of the listeners.”