Genealogy

This is primarily a Russian school of conducting. The core principles of the system arise from the long and distinguished history of the St Petersburg conservatory:  the teaching of Nicolai Malko (Mravinsky’s teacher), his student Nicolai Rabinovich and his student Yuri Simonov. As well as teaching in Russia at both the Moscow and St Petersburg Conservatories, from 1994-2008, Yuri Simonov promoted his ideas about conducting through a programme of international masterclasses.

The first Conductors’ Academy class was organised in response to a request for something to take the place of the masterclasses given by Maestro Simonov.  It took place in Radom, Poland in 2009, organised by former Simonov students Jonathan Brett and Maciej Zoltowski.   This course proved extremely successful and has since become an annual fixture in the Radom orchestra’s calendar.  In 2010 a class in Estonia was added and 2011 saw a class in St Petersburg.

Principles

Our starting point is the premise that the ideal of performance is that it should be a living process, not simply a re-creation of what was rehearsed.  Such freedom, however, is particularly difficult to achieve when it involves harnessing the collective energy of a large number of musicians.  

If musical knowledge, imagination and other desirable personal qualities are taken as a pre-requisite for success then the key to generating the collective confidence required to accomplish this is a system of disciplined processes:  the essence of our programme is to show that effectively releasing the expressive power of large groups demands a systematic approach with regard to score preparation, rehearsal management and, most importantly, physical gesture.  Whatever the level and musical potential of any conductor, learning more about these elements leads to greater effectiveness.

This is first and foremost a traditional approach to conducting:  one which takes manual gesture as its core and involves developing a vocabulary of accurate and meaningful physical movements which support sound and lead it forwards with natural flow and increased expressive potential.   All but the most minimal verbal communication with musicians is strongly discouraged, not so much because it wastes valuable time – which it does – but because it is generally actively damaging to creating a truly effective musical relationship.

Conducting is often considered to be extremely difficult but all the principles of this system are easy to understand and provide a solid basis for development for any conductor.  What is more difficult is developing a vocabulary of accurate and meaningful gestures and learning how to apply them – and using them really effectively takes years of study, practice and musical experience. 

Class structure

The details vary but active participation is always limited to a small number of students - never more than ten. All classes allow time for explanation and demonstration of essential principles, practical experience with orchestra and culminate with a process of rehearsal and performance.  Practical sessions are recorded on video and participants receive video material and critical notes after the end of the class.

All participants are expected to study – and usually have the opportunity to conduct – all the works on the list for any class and to attend every session because much can be learned from the observation of others.  We encourage the whole class to work as a team – to develop friendships and to help each other.  At least one communal meal per day is normally included to help this process and usually a couple of parties as well.

We endeavour to ensure that time allocations for individual elements – whether technical lessons or with orchestra – are the same for all active participants although the nature of the activity means that there is some variation.

One of the key principles for discussion is that rehearsal time is never enough and that therefore work needs to be efficient.  Discussion in the presence of the orchestra is therefore kept to a minimum:  participants are encouraged to use the time to maximum effect and intervention is only made when there is some point which cannot easily be learned without specific practice or demonstration.

Participants

Most students are either professional conductors seeking to further develop their skills or students with professional aspirations.  

Our classes are open to anyone with an interest in learning about these techniques, though, which can be as useful for someone working weekly with a school orchestra as they are for a full-time professional.  If you are interested but not sure if this is for you, please feel free to get in touch for further information.

Please note that there are no age limits - in 2011 the age range of participants was from 18-55.

Feedback

"whereas other courses are just teaching students, Conductors’ Academy is cultivating professionals."

"The course was for me a real eye-opener, mostly due to the intense, concentrated conducting sessions as well as the high level of the orchestra."

"I learned much more about conducting in that one week than for the past 7 years of full-time study."

"Everything we wanted and needed from the experience just happened automatically. Even the seemingly unimportant aspects like food and accommodation were of top quality, and nothing took our attention or energy away from concentrating fully on learning how to conduct."

"Despite being a passive participant, I found myself actively engaged during each orchestral session.  This is due to the excellent instruction of Maestros Brett and Zoltowski, but may also be attributed to the superb musicianship of the Radom Chamber Orchestra."

"I have only attended a few courses but from my point of view yours was particularly helpful, and unusual because you set out for us a comprehensive picture of a conductor as a professional performing artist."

"Unlike my previous experiences I felt that you treated conducting as a skill that can and should be learnt well."

"I found Conductors' Academy among many masterclasses available and I chose it because of the relatively low price, interesting programme, close location and timing. And after that I can say that these should have been the least important reasons:  the main reasons should be the fantastic orchestra and the excellent programme carried out by Maestro Brett."