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Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Summer Conducting Program
with Markand Thakar
July 3-11, 2012
Under the supervision of BCO music director Markand Thakar, up to 10 participants will conduct the internationally acclaimed Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in orchestral works by Haydn, Schumann and Dvorak, and smaller works by Stravinsky, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
The BCO Summer Conducting Program will focus on building musical understanding, with special attention to gaining technical control. Each participant will have over 2.5 hours total conducting time, including three sessions with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, two with the Stravinsky L’Histoire du Soldat ensemble, and nine with a 1-per-part ensemble. All sessions will be recorded on digital video.
The program begins with five days of Boot Camp: building physical control, along with two days dedicated to the fundamentals of music-making and three days dedicated to the three principal musical forms: theme & variations, fugue, and sonata form. The second part, Ensembles, includes a L’Histoire Day, and three days of conducting the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in music by Dvorak, Haydn, and Schumann.
In addition to orchestra and small ensemble sessions, the program will include daily video review and technique development sessions. Additionally, participants are invited to daily breakfast conversations with Maestro Thakar, covering topics from the practical to the profound.
REPERTOIRE
SCHEDULE
MARKAND THAKAR
BALTIMORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
VIDEO
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS - Peabody Students
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS - Past Workshop Students
JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
LODGING
FEES
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
APPLICATION FORM (click to download)
CONTACT
REPERTOIRE
DVORAK Serenade for Strings
HAYDN Symphony no. 85 “La Reine”
SCHUMANN Symphony no. 2
STRAVINSKY L’Histoire du Soldat Suite
plus assorted smaller works, including
MOZART Adagio and Fugue, K. 546
BEETHOVEN String Quartet no. 14 in C# Minor, op. 131, mvt 1
BEETHOVEN String Quartet no. 10 in Eb Major, op. 74, mvt. 2
SCHUBERT String Quartet no. 14 “Death and the Maiden,” mvt 2
MOZART Divertimento K. 138
SCHEDULE
PART 1: BOOT CAMP
a. fundamentals of technique and music-making
July 3
1:30 Check-in
2:00 Opening meeting
3:30 Technique
4:30 Free
7:00 Technique
8:00 Music-making: Single lines (assignment: 4 single lines)
9:00 Aural development excercises
July 4
8:00 Breakfast conversation
9:00 Technique
10:00 Music-making: Single lines and harmonization
12:00 Free
3:00 Technique
4:00 Music-making: Single line harmonization and chorale melody harmonization
5:30 Free
8:00 Music-making: Choral melody harmonization
b. Forms
July 5 Theme & Variations
SCHUBERT String Quartet no. 14 “Death and the Maiden,” mvt 2
BEETHOVEN String Quartet op. 74 mvt. 2
July 6 Fugue
MOZART Adagio & Fugue
BEETHOVEN Op. 131, mvt. 1
July 7 Sonata Form
MOZART Divertimento K. 138
Schedule for July 5-7
8:00 Breakfast conversation
9:00 Form of the day
10:00 Quartet
12:30 Free
2:00 Review
4:00 Free
6:00 Technique
7-9:30 Quartet
PART 2: ENSEMBLES
L'Histoire Day
July 8
8:00 breakfast conversation
9:00 technique
10:00 L’Histoire practice
11:30 Free
1:00 L’Histoire practice
3:00 L’Histoire with ensemble
5:30 Free
7-9:30 L’Histoire with ensemble
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra
July 9 DVORAK Serenade
July 10 HAYDN Symphony 85 “La Reine”
July 11 SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
Schedule for July 9-11
8:30 Breakfast conversation
9:30 Technique
10:00 Small ensemble
12:30 Free
2:00 Video review
4:30 Free
6:00 Technique
7-9:30 Orchestra
Markand Thakar is Charles A. and Carolyn M. Russell Music Director of the Duluth Superior Symphony, music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and principal conductor of the Duluth Festival Opera. A student of the legendary Sergiu Celibidache and former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Thakar is the author of Looking for the "Harp” Quartet: An Investigation into Musical Beauty (University of Rochester Press, 2011), as well as Counterpoint: Fundamentals of Music Making (Yale University Press, 1990). For the past 15 seasons he has been co-director (with Gustav Meier) of Graduate Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory.
Students of Maestros Meier and Thakar at Peabody have won significant conducting positions across North America, including music directorships with the Winnipeg, Eugene, Lubbock, Muncie, Williamsport, Young Musician's Foundation, Mid-Atlantic, Sioux City, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Washington-Idaho, and Grande Ronde Symphony Orchestras; staff conducting positions with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Richmond, Winnipeg, Buffalo, Phoenix, Charlotte, Kansas City, Canton, and El Paso; as well as numerous collegiate positions.
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BALTIMORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
In its 30th season, BALTIMORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA is Maryland's premiere small orchestra. Recently lauded by the New York Times for its "warmth and substance,” BCO has recently recorded three CDs for the Naxos label, one named to Naxos' "Best of the Best” list. Comprised of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra musicians and top area professionals, recent BCO activities include a New York debut and a five-concert trip to China.
VIDEO
Video of the January 2010 BCO conducting workshop is available on YouTube, as is video of Markand Thakar conducting the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.
BCO Conducting Workshop, January 2010
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade, movement 3
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade, movement 4
STRAUSS Emperor Waltzes
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PEABODY STUDENTS
"Markand Thakar's passionate and thoughtful approach to music making continues to be an important part of who I am as a musician. Through understanding and explaining the fundamental components of music, he builds musical works from the ground up, as they should be. I am very grateful to have had his musical guidance to help me find, in his words, 'the music inside me.' I owe him a lot.”
Tomasz Golka
music director, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra
music director, Riverside (CA) Symphony Orchestra
grand prize winner, 2003 Eduardo Mata International conducting competition
"Markand Thakar is the secret treasure of the Peabody conducting program. While students may initially come because of Gustav Meier's well-deserved prestige, they leave having been at least equally influenced by Thakar's simple, yet profound refrain, 'be the music.' Few conductors can match Thakar's ability to know and hear music in great detail, and to establish a palpable connection with the players. He relentless conveys all of this to his students, and for that, he is truly a great teacher of conducting.”
Matthew Brown
Resident Conductor, Canton Symphony Orchestra
Artistic Director, International Conductors' Festival (Kiev)
“Markand gave me a view of conducting that came from the music and a technique that enables me to be free - which enables me to connect with the orchestral sound - in other words, as he often said, to ‘become the music’! And I still do his exercises almost every day.”
Ken Lam
Grand Prize Winner, 2011 Memphis International Conducting Competition
Director of Orchestras, Montclair State University
Music Director, Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra
Resident Conductor, Brevard Music Festival
former Assistant Conductor, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
“My time with Markand Thakar at Peabody was invaluable. His ideas about orchestral color opened up a new world
to me and his remarkable ability to teach young conductors how to realize their own concept of sound gave my
conducting and my entire approach to music a whole other dimension that I could not have gotten any other way. I
am a better musician because of it.”
Case Scaglione
assistant conductor, New York Philharmonic
2011 Solti Foundation Award winner
music director, Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra
“Though it has been several years since I graduated from the masters conducting program at Peabody, I still hear Markand insisting that I ‘hear everything, hear every sound!’ when I’m on the podium. Listening is the fundamental act of conducting and I learned this incredibly valuable lesson time and again in the two years that I worked with Maestro Thakar. Lessons with Markand are always intense and he is dedicated and concentrated on each conductor’s personal strengths and weaknesses. Markand pursues music-making of the highest quality and he demands and inspires this same pursuit in his students. It’s hard to say just how much studying with Markand has challenged me and improved my conducting. I am incredibly fortunate to have Markand Thakar as a teacher and mentor.”
Francis Scully
music director, New Resonance Orchestra
"Markand Thakar teaches from the inside out: from within the score, and from within the student. His demanding but responsible pedagogy, imbued with the spirit of the great Sergiu Celibidache, leads his students toward mastery of the energies that shape authentically musical performances.”
Dr. Mark Shapiro
music director, Opera Company of Middlebury
music director, Cantori New York
Director of Conducting, European American Musical Alliance
"Brilliant and insightful, Markand shares his depth of knowledge and his meticulous Celibidache technique with passion."
Carolyn Kuan
music director, Hartford Symphony Orchestra
"Markand challenges students to immerse themselves in the music, and to be driven by the experience. His emphasis on internalizing a score truly helped me in opening my ears and building my podium presence.”
Joseph Young
assistant conductor, Phoenix Symphony
“It was the first time I have ever been moved by my own conducting.”
Dana Sadava
Assistant Conductor, Indianapolis Opera
“I came to this workshop with a lot of awful new habits from working with young student orchestras. Markand worked on me like a sculptor; getting rid of the tension, unnecessary gestures, etc., to simply being pure and finding the magic. to allow myself to just BE the music, really opened my body, my mind and most importantly, my love towards music.”
Keitaro Harada
Music Director, Phoenix Youth Symphony
“There are things that have plagued my conducting for years, both mechanical and otherwise, which I needed to
solve. I also was very drawn by the opportunity to study with Markand; as well as by the opportunity to conduct
such fine works with such a fabulous orchestra. Every single item on my list of things I hoped to gain was noticed,
analyzed and addressed in a most efficient, but kind way by the maestro – including strategies for continued
progress and self-analysis after the workshop. Markand is truly a master pedagogue.”
Jane Brown
Music Director, Reno Pops Orchestra
"I feel as though a tremendous weight has been lifted off me - that is, I now feel I have the ability to be free and feel the music. Before this workshop I had an unhealthy fear of expressing my musical ideas. Markand and the orchestra helped me to release it. Many technical ideas helped me as well. Most importantly, I feel comfortable being myself. This allows the music to flow unhindered."
Andrew Crust
graduate conducting major, McGill University
Markand is an excellent teacher. Why?
- no BS
- clear
- systematic
- observant of everyone's unique issues
- objective - no favorites, no head games
- consistent
Alexander Kahn
director of orchestral activities, Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College
"Gained concrete methods for improving my technique and becoming a more clear conductor. Learned how to begin listening to the orchestra better. Address tension issues in my conducting and music making. Gain more confidence and experience in front of professional musicians. Met many other conducting students in a very positive and supportive environment! Thank you Markand for providing instruction to us so openingly and in such a pleasant, collegial, and professional manner."
Sam Matthews
music director, Shanghai International Youth Orchestra
deputy artistic director, Shanghai Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
- Relaxation and efficient use of body while conducting - and I've found this has translated into overall better posture in everyday activities.
- Great repertoire to know and study.
- Exceptional conducting students to network with.
- Last and especially - Markand Thakar's teaching was exceptional. He had great things to say to every student, and I grew so much as a conductor and musician!
Rachel Grubb
graduate conducting major, Northwestern University
“Mr. Thakar’s holistic and profound approach to conducting and the music making process gives his students the confidence to reach that place within: a free mind and body allowing them to give and receive. The message is clear: it is not only about music and conducting, it is about connecting and influencing and being better human beings.”
Francois Chanon
cellist, Palm Beach Symphony
JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
The workshop will take place in the modern Mattin Center on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University.
http://webapps.jhu.edu/jhuniverse/information_about_hopkins/campuses/hom...
From the Johns Hopkins website:
Homewood is like a haven in the north Baltimore neighborhood of Charles Village. It's a peaceful place
of green grass, wide-spreading trees, brick residence halls and classroom buildings, and interconnecting
walkways that combine to create a comfortable country atmosphere in the heart of a major city. In minutes
you can easily find the action of Baltimore - by bus, light rail, your bike, or even on Hopkins' own shuttle
bus service - at the Inner Harbor, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the National Aquarium, Hopkins' medical
campus and the Peabody Institute or one of many spots downtown. East of the Inner Harbor, Fells Point - a
part of town known for exciting nightlife, fun shops, and ethnic restaurants - is a weekend favorite.
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The Johns Hopkins area offers a range of off-campus housing. Program participants may also have access
to Hopkins dormitories, at reasonable rates. More information will follow in the Spring.
FEES
Active Participants : $2350
*Auditors : $800
Non-refundable application fee : $50
*a limited number of auditors will be accepted; auditors participate in all activities, with the exception of
conducting the ensembles.
To apply for consideration, please submit :
1) A completed application form. (click to download)
2) A recent DVD of your conducting, which will not be returned.(In lieu of a DVD you may submit YouTube url addresses, but a DVD is preferable.)
3) Your Curriculum Vitae.
4) A list of references, including email addresses.
5) Non-refundable application fee of $50
Please make checks payable to "Baltimore Chamber Orchestra". If paying by credit card, only VISA and
MasterCard are accepted.
Deadline for applications: April 1, 2012.
If your application is accepted, an initial, non-refundable payment of $1175 is required by May 1 to reserve
your place, with the remaining $1175 due by June 1.
Application materials and the non-refundable application fee should be sent to:
Summer Conducting Program
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra
11 West Mount Vernon Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
bcoconductingprogram@gmail.com
(email preferable)
410.685-4050
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