Ever wondered what it’s like to be a conductor? Join us for the day as Royal College of Music students, alumni, professors and special guests come together for the College’s third Festival of Conducting!
Highlights this year include a special focus on conducting a range of genres; gain valuable insights into the collaborative process between conductors and composers through a world premiere by RCM composer Zoë Watkins led by Alex Neal (BBC Symphony Orchestra), and take part in an interactive choral session featuring Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music with Mariana Rosas (Chorus Director of the London Symphony Chorus). In addition, explore wind and brass repertoire in a dedicated session on Stravinsky’s Octet led by David McCallum (BBC Concert Orchestra).
Whether you’re a beginner or a budding conductor, enjoy a short lesson from RCM Head of Conducting, Toby Purser. Choose a piece to conduct with piano and string quartet:
Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro – Overture
Enjoy your lunch in the RCM café – The Carolean – whilst RCM musicians conduct a performance of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
The day concludes with an orchestral masterclass on how to conduct and rehearse the iconic Latin rhythms of Marquez’s Danzon no 2 with professor of conducting, Natalia Luis-Bassa and the final year conducting students.
Families can head to the RCM Museum’s Weston Discovery Centre for a fun baton-crafting activity! (Free, no booking required)
RCM Sparks: Get with the beat!
Applications are now closed.
Curious about conducting? Join RCM Sparks with Tess Jackson (Associate Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain) for an exciting chance to conduct a live ensemble and explore how conductors bring music to life before attending an inspiring lunchtime concert.
Ages 15–18
Free tickets available, subject to eligibility
The Festival of Conducting was devised by Christopher McMullen-Laird, a former RCM conducting student who sadly passed away in 2020.
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