FAQs about MM and DMA programs

in orchestral conducting at UCLA

Are you taking applications for Fall 2009?

Yes. You can obtain detailed information about the application process at http://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. (Note: Please make sure to include both rehearsal and performance segments in your video.) 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 2009. 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. 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?

There is currently one Master's candidate and one doctoral candidate in the program. One or two openings are expected for this coming year.

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 orchestra?

UCLA Symphony, the campus-wide orchestra, was created in part to provide performances opportunities to student conductors, so it is a major outlet for performance. Conductors may also perform portions of concerts with UCLA Philharmonia, and are encouraged to organize their own smaller ensembles for performance. 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.

In 2006-07, doctoral candidates led performances of the following:

- Puccini Preludio Sinfonico
- Bernstein Candide Overture
- Tchaikowsky Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
- Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream (two performances of staged production with UCLA Opera)
- Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 (first movement)
- Wagner Träume from Wesendonck Lieder
- Weber Concertino for Clarinet
- Hanson Serenade for Flute, Harp and Strings
- Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915
- Excerpts from Humperdinck Hãnsel und Gretel, Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro, Délibes Lakmé, Puccini Tosca, Bizet Carmen, Rossini Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Verdi La Traviata, Bernstein West Side Story
- Mozart Symphony No. 35 (Haffner)
- Ney Rosauro Concerto for Marimba
- Moussorgsky/Ravel Pictures from an Exhibition

In 2007-08, there was one first-year Master’s student in the program. He led performances of the following:

Weill The Threepenny Opera (staged production with Opera UCLA), Verdi Falstaff (staged production with Opera UCLA), Beethoven Sympony No. 6, Poulence Concert Champetre, Wagner Overture to TheFlying Dutchman, Mozart Overture to Don Giovanni, Rheinberger Concerto for Organ No. 2, David Concertino for Trombone, Mozart Flute Concerto No. 2.

He also co-founded and conducted the first performance of UCLA’s new contemporary ensemble Contempo Flux.

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.

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

- The faculty’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.

- 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.