Registration Info
August 2-8, 2026
Important Notice: In order to ensure that participants have ample podium time, there are a limited number of spots available; when filled, registration will close.
Sunday: 6 - 9 p.m.
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., 7 - 8:30 p.m. (selected evenings)
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Cost (auditor, no graduate credits, full participation in the course): $600
Cost (3 graduate credits): Billed at the university's current rate.
Instructors:
- Donald Nally (Westminster Choir College, Northwestern, The Crossing)
- Beth Willer (Peabody Institute, Lorelei Ensemble)
- Stephen Spinelli (Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Back Bay Chorale)
Breath, gesture, and listening are the fundamental building blocks of the advanced conductor. This course will focus on their coordination as a means of connecting to ensemble musicians and audiences. Conducting music appropriate to a wide range of choirs, students will have daily podium time in a masterclass environment in order to further develop their ears, methods of analysis and score preparation, leadership and guidance effectiveness, and point of view. Additionally, lectures/discussions will cover new repertoire, and philosophies of ensemble leadership. This course will culminate in a 3-camera edited video capture of each student conducting the full class/ensemble of 30 singers. Additional sessions will include reading works appropriate to university and advanced high school and church choirs, rehearsals with all three instructors on repertoire in which they specialize, and opportunities to socialize and ask questions.
Download Schedule (PDF)
Repertoire to be drawn from the following composers:
J.S. Bach, Judith Bingham, Johannes Brahms, Jonathan Dove, Gerald Finzi, Edie Hill, Herbert Howells, Gabriel Jackson, David Lang, Felix Mendelssohn, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Heinrich Schütz, Judith Weir, and Eric Whitacre.