Summer Choral Conducting Institute
Daniel Bara, director

Sunday, June 17 though Friday, June 22, 2012

The UGA Summer Choral Conducting Institute is an intensive, week-long series of seminars and master classes geared for music educators, graduate-student conductors, church musicians, and other aspiring conductors who wish to grow as artists, teachers, musicians, and leaders.  Daily seminars, workshops, conducting master classes, and round-table discussions will serve as the learning environment in which participants will:

• build and refine conducting gestural options and rehearsal techniques, review the fundamentals of basic conducting grammar, and explore the principles that lead to expressive, precise, and artistic conducting.

• develop and practice score-studying methods that lead to confident, productive, effective rehearsals.

• explore and practice effective rehearsal techniques for choirs.

• define and discuss the elements of healthy and beautiful vocal and choral tone, and methods for its cultivation.

• sing in and conduct a paid resident choir that will be responsive, supportive, and capable of meeting (and surpassing) your musical expectations.

• focus on great choral repertoire (much of it new) that can be used in their home programs.

• build career-enhancing connections with peers, instructors, and singers.

• rediscover the joys of singing in an excellent choral ensemble.

• enjoy a reading session and musical resources provided by the J.W. Pepper Music Company.

 

Conducting Institute Levels of Participation and Fees

Institute Conducting Fellows: $500

Up to 12 Institute Conducting Fellows will be admitted based on resume and timeliness of application. Conducting Fellows will sing and conduct in the daily master classes with the Conducting Institute Choir (about 60 minutes of recorded podium time!) in addition to pariticipating in all of the morning seminar sessions.

Institute Auditors: $350

Up to 25 Institute Auditors will be admitted who will take part in all morning seminar sessions in addition to singing in the Conducting Institute Choir during the afternoon master class sessions.

Students currently enrolled in the UGA SEAT (Summer Educational Advancement for Teachers) degree program in the area of choral music education will be encouraged to audit the Conducting Institute in its entirety as an Institute Auditor at no additional expense pending student class scheduling availability.

Application Process for the Summer Choral Conducting Institute

To register for the UGA Summer Choral Conducting Institute, simply send:

• A letter of intent indicating your desire to enroll as a Conducting Fellow or an Institute Auditor (if desiring to enroll as a Conducting Fellow, please indicate whether you are also interested in attending as an Auditor if you are not selected as one of the 12 Fellows.)

• A brief resume of your conducting experience and musical background, as well as the types of ensembles you currently conduct (also include your voice type for the choir).

• $100 non-refundable deposit (make checks payable to the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.)

 

Please ensure that all pertinent contact information is included in your letter and/or resume, including email addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers. For the sake of expediency and to reduce paper waste, all future correspondence for the UGA Summer Choral Conducting Institute will be done by email, fax, and phone.

Selection of the Conducting Fellows will be based in part on the submitted conducting resumes. However, an effort will be made to build a class with a broad range of conducting experiences, ages, and educational backgrounds.

Repertoire for the UGA Summer Choral Conducting Institute will be chosen based on the types of choirs led by the Institute participants. In recent years, aprticipants have been made up fo church musicians, community choir conductors, high school choral conductors, and graduate student conductors. One of the goals of the Institute is to select both new and proven choral repertoire that its participants can use immediately in their own programs.

Every effort will be made to help ensure that on-campus accommodations at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education (and/or in less expensive on-campus dormitory settings) will be made available for those participants desiring these as options.

Send your letter of intent, resume, and non-refundable deposit by May 1, 2012 to:

UGA Summer Choral Conducting Institute
Dr. Daniel Bara, director
Hugh Hodgson School of Music
250 River Road
Athens, GA 30602

Questions and all further correspondence should be done by phone, fax, or email.

706-542-3737 (phone)
706-542-2773 (fax)
dbara@uga.edu

Tentative Conducting Institute Schedule

Sunday, June 17

5:30 pm   Registration - Choral/Opera Suite, Hugh Hodgson School of Music
6:30 pm   The basic philosophies of inspiring gestural, musical, and interpersonal leadership
               Group introductions, institute overview, and first class

Daily Q & A with coffee and refreshments: 9:00 am until 9:45 am

Morning Seminar Sessions: Daily from 9:45 am until 12:45 pm

Monday: Score preparation and study

Explore a holistic approach to diligent and creative score study that enables exhilarating, productive rehearsals. The institute repertoire will be examined as a group.

Tuesday: Rehearsal techniques and philosophies

Methods and pedagogy for the mastery of pitch, rhythm, diction, phrasing, tone, and musicality for choirs of all levels.

Wednesday: Back to the basics of conducting grammar: Shaping patterns into music

Another in-depth examination of the physical characteristics and guidelines for clear and musical conducting gesture, including mixed-meter, the grammar of fermatas, recitative conducting, and the concept of conducting rhythm and meter. And, 20 basic conducting moves that every conductor must know.

Thursday: Developing and teaching your vocal/choral aesthetic

An open discussion on the principles of singing, effective warm-ups, group vocal techniques, and strategies for achieving a healthy and homogenous choral tone.

Friday: Reading Session

A reading session geared for conductors of church, middle school, and high school choirs, plus a brief examination of some of the most popular and new technique and literature texts for choral musicians.

Afternoon Sessions:

2:00 pm until 5:00 pm: Conducting master classes with the Conducting Institute Choir

The 12 Conducting Fellows will be afforded more than 60 minutes of video-recorded rehearsal and master class time throughout the week with the Conducting Institute Choir. These sessions will culminate in a public class recital on Friday, June 22 at 6:00 pm.

5:00 pm until 5:30 pm: Success in every minute!

A daily summarizing rehearsal/discussion led by Dr. Bara in whcih the techniques, philosophies, and principles of the week and reviewed and demonstrated.

 

 

 
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