KU Symphony Orchestra

About the Director | General Information | How to Join | Graduate Orchestral Conducting | Printed Orchestra Excerpts

Graduate Orchestral Conducting Program

KU offers first class MM and DMA programs in Orchestral Conducting. These competitive programs offer students the opportunity to conduct a broad range of repertoire in preparation for a professional conducting career. The art of conducting is examined from the perspective of gesture and movement, score study/analysis/ear training, and rehearsal techniques and strategies. In addition, students learn a broad range of orchestral repertoire within social and historic contexts. A secondary focus is placed on the operatic and theatrical experience as part of the path to becoming a well-rounded conductor.

Audition Procedures:

Audition Dates:
January and February 2008 or later, dates to be arranged with Director of Orchestral activities.

Audition Requirements for Graduate Study in Orchestral Conducting

General Information
It is preferred that all applicants for the Master of Music in conducting degree have a bachelor’s degree in music performance or one year of successful professional-level conducting experience that can be documented. It is preferred that all applicants for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting have a masters degree in orchestral conducting or two years of successful professional-level conducting experience that can be documented. This may include public school teaching, directing a professional or semi-professional ensemble, or other equivalent professional arenas.

Deadline for Applications

Application Deadline: December 15, 2007.

• Music Application: Submit your application to receive a graduate teaching assitantship, along with all preliminary audition materials (listed below), to Ms. Joy Simpson, Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies (musicgrad@ku.edu).
• Apply online at www.applyweb.com/apply/ukansg

Preliminary Audition Requirements

• a complete application and the applicant’s resumé.
• a videotape that shows the applicant conducting at least two compositions in performance and two compositions in rehearsal. The conductor must be in full frontal or a partial profile view and at least part of the ensemble must be in view. The repertoire selected for the video must be appropriate to the musical and technical abilities of the ensemble.
• a performance audio tape or CD of an ensemble that the applicant has trained.
• a formal analysis (two-pages typed maximum) of the following literature:
  • MM applicants –Dvorak, Symphony No. 8, 1st movement
  • DMA applicants – Dvorak: Symphony No. 8, 1st movement; Mozart: Magic Flute, act 1 finale “speaker” scene (grand recitative)
• a list of three references who can speak to the applicant’s musical abilities. Include name, professional title, relationship to applicant, address, phone number with area code, and e-mail address.

Faculty Review of Materials/Invitation to Audition

Upon faculty review of the materials that are submitted, a limited number of finalists will be invited to audition and interview at the University of Kansas on a specific audition date. If an applicant has been selected as a finalist, they will be notified four weeks prior to the specific audition date. While the auditions take place in January/early February 2008, no applicant should make travel arrangements until they have been invited for a final audition.

Formal Audition

The required audition piece for applicants in Orchestral Conducting will be the 1st movement of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. in G.

The live audition will include three parts:

1. An interview with Prof. Neely discussing the applicant’s experience and professional goals
2. A musical skills and knowledge diagnostic including aural skills, score recognition, and knowledge of orchestral instruments and musical terminology.
3. A twenty minute audition with the KU Symphony Orchestra adjudicated by the heads of the conducting divisions. The audition will begin with a run-through to assess non-verbal communication and gesture. The candidate will then be asked make several adjustments to their conducting. The audition will conclude with the candidate rehearsing the piece in the remaining time.

Notification

The applicants will be notified of their status within three weeks of the audition.

Assistantships and fellowships notifications will come from the Chair of Department of Music and Dance and the Director of Graduate Studies offices, not from the Conducting and Ensembles area.