2nd Berlin Workshop for Conductors
August 8-11, 2019
Discover avenues towards optimal preparation to increase confidence on the podium. Strengthen the fundaments in Berlin, taught by international competition winner and experienced teacher Brandon Keith Brown. Develop technique, score study skills and an informed imagination in preparation for competitions and auditions in a supportive, non-competitive environment. Languages are English and German.
- Daily Score study/Orchestration class, developing an informed interpretation
- Daily Technique course, individually tying gesture to sound
- Lessons with piano and string quintet/orchestra depending enrollment
- Career advisement, mentoring after the course, competition preparation, and educational advisement
General concepts:
Baton technics, basic geographic beat patterns, pivot-point conducting, score study, the plane, visual registration of the gesture, the preparatory beat, transpositions, geographic vs. centrifugal beating patterns, connecting with the sound, conveying weight, physical manifestations of the ictus and gesture for strings/choir, wind/brass/percussion and basic rhythmic units, rehearsal deportment and planning, psychology, programing and pedagogy
Application Requirements
Click here for the application form.
Conducting Video: up to 10 minutes with any ensemble/choir or piano.
Experienced and inexperience conductors may apply.
No age requirements.
Students are accepted on a rolling bases. Enrollment is limited.
Tuition
Enroll before June 30, 2019: 700 €
Active participant tuition: 900 €
Auditor: 600 €, no ensemble conducting.
Deposit: 400 € Due immediately upon acceptance. Balance due first day of course.
Location: TBD
Housing: Affordable housing assistance is provided.
Small scholarships for ensemble instrumentalists can be awarded. Include a recording in your application.
PAYPAL is at the bottom of the page
For questions:
berlinworkshopforconductors@gmail.com
Repertoire:
Prepare the best you can. If you can not prepare all pieces, select the movements. Assignments will in part be made prior to arrival by the instructor. Students may suggest repertoire.
Subject to change
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 7
Beethoven: Egmont Overture
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Elgar: Serenade for Strings
Mozart: Divertimento K. 136, D major Bärenreiter
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 Prager, Bärenreiter
Mozart: Die Zauberflötte Overture, Bärenreiter
Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte, No. 11 Recit and Aria: Ascostati…Smanie Implaccabile
No. 14 Recit and Aria: Temerari…Come Scoliglo
Schubert: Symphony No. 5, 1st mvt.
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, 1st mvt.
R. Strauss: Don Juan
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Glorification of the Chosen One, Danse Sacrale
Schedule subject to change
Day 1 Schedule
11am-12:30 pm Conducting Technique
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30-2:45 pm Orchestration/Score Study Techniques
3:00 – 4:30 pm Piano Session
4:30-5:30pm Gaining Access to the podium: Music Education in the US and abroad, career avenues, career development, Fellowship
Day 2 Schedule
11am-12:30 pm Conducting Technique
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30-2:45 pm Orchestration/Score Study Techniques
3:00 – 6:00 pm Quintet Session
7:00-8:00pm Gaining Access to the podium: Career development, competitions, video review, fellowship
5:30 Private Consultations with Instructor
Day 3 Schedule
11am-12:30 pm Technique
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 2:45 pm Orchestration/Score Study Techniques
3:00-6:00 pm Quintet Session
6:45-7:45 pm Gaining Access to the podium: Building a press kit. Material review including resumes, cover letter, photos etc.
5:30 Private Consultations with Instructor
Day 4 Schedule
11am-12:30 pm Technique
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 2:45 pm Orchestration/Score Study Techniques
3:00-6:00 pm Quintet Session
For questions:
berlinworkshopforconductors@gmail.com
Workshop Instructor
Brandon Keith Brown
Featured in Der Tagesspiegel
Following in the tradition of his teachers David Zinman, Lorin Maazel, and Kurt Masur, Brandon Keith Brown combines the German-Austrian tradition with American spirit. Conducting the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra as the third prize winner of the 2012 Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition, he was "... the stand-out audience favorite." (Norman Lebrecht, Slipped Disc).
In April 2013, Brown led a celebrated European debut with the Badische Staatskapelle, executing an "extremely demanding program, which was mastered by the young conductor with flying colors."(Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s Symphony No. 4) This led to the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSB), where he was promptly re-invited. Other engagements include the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Neue Philharmonie-Wesfaln and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In 2018, he debuts with the Nürnberger Symphoniker.
Brown has directed, among others, performances of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte and Puccini's Suor Angelica. He has also assisted on Britten's Albert Herring and studied Puccini's Il Trittico with Lorin Maazel.
A passionate educator, Brown is an experienced university professor and youth orchestra leader. In 2011 and 2012, he conducted members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the opera camps for children of the Salzburg Festival. Brown has advanced in the Matacic, Malko, and Tokyo International Competition. Brown attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and holds a master’s from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University with Gustav Meier. Initially trained as a violinist, he was a student of Roland and Almita Vamos. He lives in Berlin and is an advocate for social justice.
Complete Workshop Tuition
Does not include bank transaction fees.
Early Enrollment Tuition
Enroll before June 30, 2019
Workshop Deposit/Auditor Fee
Due immediately upon acceptance, not including any transaction fees. The deposit is non-refundable.
Remaining Balance
Remaining balance not including any transaction fees.