Conducting Weekend Course Report

The Autumn weekend conducting course has just completed in London. Students from Argentina, Norway, Portugal, France, and Italy worked hard at music by Bach, Sibelius, and Stravinsky. We firstly spent a long day working with piano preparing the music (Bach Brandenburg 3, Sibelius Valse Triste, Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks) and then worked with the South London Sinfonietta on the second day. At the end of the course each student was able to choose one movement to perform with the orchestra. The varied music gave us ample opportunities to look at a wide variety of issues. For example: what is the role of the conductor in music like the Brandenburg concertos? How does one get to grips with Stravinsky's complex rhythms? And lots of others ... !