Launch of first ConductIT materials

In 2018 I was part of a partnership involving RNCM Conducting, the University of Stavanger, the University of Aveiro, and the Open Universiy that was awarded a major research grant from the EU’s Erasmus+ Stretegic Partnership programme. Little did we know then how relevant our project to create online resources to teach conducting would be as we approached the end of the 3 years of funding.

In December we launched the first part of the ConductIT resource. Our introductory MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is a standalone resource aimed at those beginning to conduct, and serves as an introduction to the full range of materials that will be published towards the end of 2021.

Have a look at the ConductIT website to see what we’ve been up to.

https://mooc.conductIT.eu

ConductIT online conferences

The ConductIT project has been steaming ahead over the last few months and we are preparing to release an introductory MOOC before the end of the year. In place of the unfortuntaely cancelled conference in Aveiro, Portugal in November (can’t imagine why we thought that would be a good idea….) we are instead holding a series of online events. These are free of charge and will be of interest to conductors of all levels, and those interested in how conducting is taught.

• 2nd November in the evening

• 5th November in the afternoon

Nottingham Philharmonic returns to action

The NPO has been right at the forefront of orchestras returning to public performance in the UK. On 10th October we gave a socially-distanced concert with an orchestra of 53 players - we think the largest orchestral concert with a public audience since March. Here is a selection from a very emotional and memorable eveing.

RNCM Masterclasses

Scheduling our usual programme of external masterclasses and short courses for the 2020-21 season has been somewhat challenging of course! However, we are delighted that our Music Educators course is up and running and starts in late October. We’ve also been able to schedule a masterclass with wind & brass ensembles in November. All the details here.

Sherborne Wind Conducting 2020 ONLINE

As with most other summer programmes, Sherborne Summer School of Music has been cancelled this year. However, we are going to run a version of the Wind Conducting Programme online from 3rd-5th August. More details here.

ConductIT video series

As the COVID-19 lockdowns commenced, I put together a series of short films offering advice on how conductors could keep busy and productive during this time. There are 12 videos from conductors and teachers including Marin Alsop, Sir Mark Elder, Simon Halsey, Gergely Madaras, Mark Stringer and Nicolas Pasquet.

M1 Symphony

The M1 motorway is 60 years old! BBC Radio 3 commissioned the composer Alex Woolf and documentary producer Laurence Grissell to create a 40 minute symphony commemorating the dramatic change the road made to the landscape and the lives of those who travel and work on it. The result is a unique tapestry of new interviews, archive recordings, ambient sounds and original music.

You can listen to the BBC Philharmonic performing the work here.

Autumn gigs

The Nottingham Phil season got off to a great start with the first performance of Adam Gorb’s clarinet concerto since it’s RLPO premiere in 1999. Read the excellent review here.

The RNCM autumn term is also well under way. I conducted Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance in October (a first for me!), and our We Are Migrants season allowed a rare performance of Erwin Schulhoff’s fantastic Concerto for string quartet and winds.

Sherborne Summer School

There still a handful of places available on the fantastic course at Sherborne this summer. Details of this very special week are available here.

New Music Week

Nigel Osborne

A busy week of contemporary music coming up. On Thursday I’m delighted to be conducting Psappha’s final concert of the season, which includes Nigel Osborne’s incredibly evocative Bosnian Voices. Written to mark 20 years since the conclusion of the war in Bosnia (a conflict in which the composer was a humanitarian volunteer) it is a set of arrangements based on songs written by inhabitants of Srebrenica.

Sir George Benjamin

On Saturday the RNCM New Ensemble will be at the Wigmore Hall presenting a study day of the music of Sir George Benjamin.