FAQs about MM and DMA programs

in orchestral conducting at UCLA

 

 

Are you taking applications for Fall 2010?

 

No. Barring unforseen circumstances, the first openings in the studio will be for admission in
Fall 2011. You can obtain detailed information about the application process at   www.music.ucla.edu/admission/graduate/overview.htm

 

 

What do you look for in potential candidates for your program?

 

Successful candidates for the MM and DMA programs in orchestral conducting will demonstrate mastery of their chosen instrumental, vocal or compositional fields, fluency in the literature and materials of music, a gift for leadership, an intense interpretive passion, the foundations of a sound conducting technique, excellent organizational skills and the potential to make a major contribution to the profession. Advanced keyboard skills and the ability to coach and accompany opera productions are highly desirable.

 

 

What does your application process consist of?

 

The application process consists of two stages.

 

The preliminary stage consists of the submission of an application with all supporting materials, including a video, preferably in DVD format.

 

Important notes about the video:


1. Please make sure to include both rehearsal and performance segments in your video. Rehearsal footage should include significant portions where you stop and rehearse the ensemble. Runthroughs in rehearsal settings are not considered rehearsal footage.

 

2. If you submit a video in DVD format, please check carefully to make sure that it is playable on standard Macintosh and PC computers, and on standard DVD players.  If I am unable to view your video, your application could be jeopardized.

 

The deadline for the application is December 1st.
  

(Please see www.music.ucla.edu/admission/graduate/supplemental.htm for details.)

 

Applicants chosen from the preliminary stage of the process will be invited to come to UCLA for a personal interview with Director of Orchestral Studies Neal Stulberg in January or February 2011. At this interview, you will be asked to discuss interpretive and performance issues related to Mozart Symphony No. 33, K. 319 or No. 34, K. 338. (In my e-mail invitation, I will designate which symphony I would like you to prepare.)   Please prepare the symphony as you would for a rehearsal and performance opportunity. You may be asked to conduct a portion of the work with piano. If you are an instrumentalist, you may be asked to supplement your discussion by playing some excerpts from the piece; if you are a singer, you may be asked to illustrate your discussion vocally. The interview may also include more general discussion of musical topics.

 

There will be no live audition with orchestra.

 

How many students are currently in your studio and how many openings do you expect?

 

As of Fall 2009, there are two DMA students in the program; one first-year and one second-year student. There are generally no more than two students in the program at any one time. Both DMA and MM candidates are welcome to apply.  

 

 

How much time in front of the orchestra do students receive?

 

There is substantial podium time for conducting students, with both UCLA Philharmonia and UCLA Symphony. For further information about the UCLA orchestras, please go to

 

http://www.music.ucla.edu/Performance/Orchestra/index.html

 

 

What about performance opportunities with the orchestras?

 

UCLA Symphony, the campus-wide orchestra which meets 7:15 – 9:45 PM on Wednesday nights, was created in part to provide performances opportunities to student conductors, so it is a major outlet for performance. Orchestral conducting students, under my supervision, lead and manage the ensemble in fall and spring quarters; choral conducting students, under the supervision of Professor Donald Neuen, lead Symphony during winter quarter.

Student conductors may also perform portions of concerts with UCLA Philharmonia. In the final year of the Masters program, each conductor is expected to lead at least half of a Philharmonia program, or its equivalent. In the final year of the DMA program, each conductor is expected to lead an entire program with Philharmonia, or its equivalent.

 

In 2007-2008, one of my conducting students co-founded Contempo Flux, an ensemble for contemporary music. This ensemble, which has since become a credit course and is now taught by Grammy-award-winning pianist Gloria Cheng, is an important new performance outlet for our conducting students.

 

Students conductors are also encouraged to organize their own smaller ensembles for performance, and are frequently called upon to lead performances by student and faculty ensembles.

What repertoire have conducting students recently performed with the orchestras?

In 2008-09, orchestral conducting students led performances of the following:

In addition, students conducted the following repertoire in orchestral reading sessions with UCLA Philharmonia in 2008-2009:

In 2007-08, orchestral conducting students led performances of the following:

In 2006-07, orchestral conducting students led performances of the following:

Is there anything else about UCLA's orchestral conducting program that you would highlight over similar programs?

 

- The level of personal attention that the enterprising conductor can receive from the music faculty at UCLA is unusual in high-level graduate conducting programs, both because the program and the school are small, and because the performance faculty is extraordinarily committed to the education of young conductors.

 

- The program provides an amount of podium time and a level of responsibility to graduate conductors which is greater than most.

 

- UCLA’s approach to teaching orchestral conducting emphasizes a rigorous approach to textual analysis and interpretive choice, close attention to gestural and rehearsal technique, a focus on string techniques and the development of the student's wider musical and artistic culture.

 

- The program offers strong training and experience in both orchestral and operatic conducting, and encourages close contact with the excellent directing and coaching staff of the UCLA Opera Studio.

- UCLA offers the resources of one of the country's great universities, located in an international music and arts capital. Every effort is made to connect the interested student with the vast array of artists and resources that Southern California has to offer.

 

 

What financial assistance is available?

 

Students in the graduate orchestral conducting program generally also serve as teaching assistants. Responsibilities may include conducting rehearsals when the faculty conductor is away, leading sectionals, serving as orchestra manager or librarian, accompanying for the opera studio, coordinating recruitment, auditions and concert promotion. The compensation for teaching assistantships consists of fees and a stipend. For further information about financial assistance, please contact the department's graduate advisor, Sandra McKerroll, at sandram@arts.ucla.edu.