4th All the Black Dots Workshop
September 16-19, 2020
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 string quintet
- Mentoring after the course, competition preparation, and educational advisement
General concepts:
Baton technics, score study, the plane, visual registration of the gesture, the preparatory beat, geographic vs. centrifugal beating patterns, connecting with the sound, conveying weight, physical manifestations of the ictus and gesture for strings/choir, wind/brass/percussion, basic rhythmic units, rehearsal deportment and planning, psychology, and programming.
Application Requirements
Click here for the application form.
Participants will be limited.
Audition Video: up to 15 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 August 1, 2025: €1000
Active participant tuition: €975
Auditor: €775
Tuition: €975 due by September 1, 2025
Tuition: €875 if paid before August 15, 2025
Auditor: €775, limited ensemble conducting
Deposit: €575 Due upon acceptance. Balance of €400 due first day of course. Non-refundable
No refunds will be given after September 1, 2025, unless the workshop is cancelled.
If the workshop is cancelled, tuition will be refunded minus €100 for processing.
Location: TBD
PAYPAL and Bank Deposit Information is below.
Bank Information
IBAN: DE87 1001 1001 2027 8734 58
BIC: NTSBDEB1XXX
Selection: Please include a video in your application. The video should face the conductor from the orchestra's perspective. No longer than 15 minutes.
For questions:
Repertoire:
If you can not prepare all pieces, select movements. Assignments will in part be made prior to arrival by the instructor. Students may suggest repertoire.
Subject to change
Beethoven: Egmont Overture
Beethoven: Symphony no. 5, 1st mvt., 3rd-4th mvt.
Elgar: Serenade for Strings, mvt. 2 OR Webern: Langsamer Satz
Mozart: Divertimento K. 136, D major, 1st mvt., (Bärenreiter)
Mozart: Overture to Die Zauberflötte, (Bärenreiter)
Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte, No. 11 Recit and Aria: Ascostati…Smanie Implaccabile AND
No. 14 Recit and Aria: Temerari…Come Scoliglo
These scores may be discussed at student interest:
Copland: Appalachian Spring, (Chamber Version)
Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, 1st mvt.
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:
Brandon Keith Brown
Afro-American conductor, Brandon Keith Brown, is a highly skilled socially conscious artist. A laureate of the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition, he was the “standout audience favorite” from 402 candidates, performing with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.
For his European debut with the Badische Staatskapelle, he mastered an "extremely demanding program with flying colors.” (Klassik.com). A debut with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra ensued with a prompt re-invitation. This year, l’ll return to Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela. Orchestras include the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, the Tokyo Philharmonic at the Tokyo International Competition, the Cape Town Philharmonic, the Duisburger Philharmonic, the Jena Philharmonic, and the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra for Black musicians.
As a skilled opera conductor, he’s led members of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival as the Ansbacher Fellow. Works include The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mozart's Cosìfan tutte, Puccini's Suor Angelica, Britten's Albert Herring, and he studied Puccini's Il Trittico with Lorin Maazel.
A composer-violinist by nine, high school was at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, completing studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Originally a violinist, he studied with renowned teachers, Roland and Almita Vamos.
Brown’s a passionate and proven educator teaching in the US, Germany, and South America. He’s also a published writer, speaker, and lecturer on racial equity in classical music.
Complete Workshop Tuition
Not including any transaction fees.
Early Enrollment Tuition
Enroll before August 15, 2025
Not including any transaction fees.
Auditor Fee
Due immediately upon acceptance, not including any transaction fees. The deposit is non-refundable.
Workshop Deposit
Due immediately upon acceptance, not including any transaction fees. The deposit is non-refundable.
Remaining Balance
Remaining balance, not including any transaction fees.